Bullet Through the Head
by needingfreedom
Summary: Nothing makes sense anymore. The undead fill the streets, and all of my family are dead or one of them. I can't stand the never ending pain I feel in this new world. All I know anymore is that the only way to end it is a bullet through the head. Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**I tried to write a Daryl story a little while back, and I realized that compared to the other's I've read on this site, mine sucked. He was too nice, and didn't fit his character. So now I'm writing this, trying to keep his counterpart in this story as mean and broken as he is. Enjoy.**_

_**Disclaimer: I wish I could have created this story, but I did not. Everything belongs to its rightful owner.**_

The Georgia sun beat down, taking all of the fight out of me. I was drenched with sweat, and didn't want to go on. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and fall asleep, something I haven't be able to do for a long time. But a zombie apocalypse is not the time to catch up on your sleep.

"Is it clear?" The little girl beside me asked in a whisper. Her light red hair was plastered to her face from the sweat. Her nine year old hand clutched onto the back of my shirt, head on a constant swivel.

We were in a building in Atlanta. Some sort of hotel by the looks of it. The floor we were on, just above the lobby, didn't show any signs of the No Souls. "Looks it. But stay close. Gather anything useful, then we'll keep moving." She knew it by now, never stay in one place for long. With the No Souls wondering the streets, you need to be on your toes, always ready to run, or kill, if needed.

She nodded, then slowly loosened her grip on my shirt. "I'll be in room seventeen." Her voice was so quiet, from fear, from innocence, from her youth. She was so fragile, and I knew I had to protect her.

"Alright, I'll be in eighteen. Holler if you need me." She nodded, and gently ran her finger over the blade that was tucked into her belt loop. We had pocketed it off of a No Soul, and I taught her the basics of using it. She had yet to take out a No Soul, but I wasn't going to leave her without knowing she could.

I checked one of my many guns, making sure it was ready for use. My pistol was loaded, but I was running out of ammo, same with the shotgun that was slung over my shoulder. I had an axe in my belt loop, and a hunting knife attached to my leg. I hated using my guns; they were too loud and every No Soul near by ran towards it like it was the ice cream truck song.

Slowly opening the door to room eighteen, I had to pull my shirt up over my mouth and nose. On the bed laid a middle aged woman who had opted out. She was a coward and had shot her brains out. Next to her laid a note, surly begging for forgiveness from some sort of God. I didn't bother to read it. If there was some sort of God, then we wouldn't be living in hell.

Moving around the room, I pulled my bag off my back and opened it. It was scarcely filled, and I knew that I could only grab the essentials, then hurry back to room seventeen.

Opening the mini fridge, I threw anything I could find into the bag. Peanuts, crackers, water bottles, and some juice for the little girl. As a last thought, I tossed in three of the small bottles of liquor, focusing on the vodka and tequila.

Moving over to the bathroom, I grabbed the soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a towel.

Hiking the bag onto my shoulder, I grabbed my pistol firmly in my hand and opened the door and checked the hall quickly. When nothing moving, I moved into room seventeen.

"Come on, we gotta get moving." I whispered, and my companion got to her feet, pulled her bag onto both shoulders, and moving towards me. Seeing how full the bag was, I gave her a look. "What the hel…heck did you grab?" It took all of my effort to not curse in front of her. She was still a little girl and I tried my hardest to let her stay that way. When I had to kill a No Soul, she would hide behind me and cover her eyes, same if we passed a dead person.

Shrugging, she quickly latched onto the back of my shirt and I guided us down the halls of the building. Surprisingly we didn't pass any No Souls, but we were stuck in this building. Earlier today, some asshole loaded off a ton of bullets on the No Souls. Now they were all flooding up the Atlanta streets, feasting on something that I hoped was an animal. Some jackass in a red sports car also sped by our spot with his car alarm blaring. There weren't as many No Souls as before, but there was no way I was risking this little girls life if we were safe here.

We made our way up one floor to the next, still not coming across any No Souls until the stairwell from the fifth to sixth floor.

"Stay here." I whispered. She nodded, covered her eyes and ears, and hid in the corner. Sighing, I slowly walked up the stairs. The No Soul had yet to spot me, or even smell me, which I could only guess was from all the dirt, No Soul blood and guts, and sweat that I was incased in.

Slipping the gun into the back of my waistband, I slipped the axe out of my belt loop, brought it over my head, and brought it down onto the No Soul's skull before it could turn around. Repeating the blow, I made sure it didn't move and was not about to come back alive.

After wiping the gore off of my weapon on the No Soul's clothes, I slipped it back into place on my belt loop and went back to the quivering figure in the corner.

"Keep your eyes closed." I muttered, then led her carefully up the stairs and onto the sixth floor, the last floor before the roof.

"It's getting late." She whispered, looking out a window into the quickly approaching night fall.

Nodding, I looked around. "You tired?" I can't comprehend how she could possibly slept as much as she did. She never screamed out if she had a nightmare, never lied awake with terrible thoughts running through her mind. She always fell asleep at night, and woke up in the morning as if it was like any other morning before all hell broke loose.

"Yeah." Her stomach rumbled softly, but she didn't say anything. She knew that food was scarce, and that I would make sure we ate when we had to.

Pulling my bag off my shoulders, I tossed her one of the five water bottles I found, and one of the three bags of peanuts. "For protein." She gave me a look and I sighed. "Drink and eat it all." If she got dehydrated or starved, we would move slower, and that could be death. Plus I felt bad for the poor girl.

"Stay here, keep your knife out. I'm going to do a sweep of the floor, then barricade it for the night. I'll be back in ten minutes. Call out if anything happens." I moved her so her back was pressed into a corner. Yes, this meant that if anything happened she would be trapped, but it also meant that nothing could sneak up behind her. She could fend off anything that she saw long enough for me to come and help her, but if it came up behind her she wouldn't last.

She nodded and took a large sip of the water. I left my bag with her, knowing it would just slow me up. I checked my watch and made sure that I would be back in no more than ten minutes, meaning I had until 7:23, or she would worry. She checked her watch to make sure she knew the time as well.

Pulling my knife out, I checked each room, making sure each one was clear. We would scavenge them later. For now, I checked each window and made sure they were locked, and left it at that. Most didn't have a fire escape or anything, and the ones that did; well No Souls wouldn't be able to climb them.

Glancing at my watch, I sighed. Five more minutes to finish everything up. Making my way down the hall, I saw another stairwell. I found a pole on the ground, looking like a pole that holds up a curtain. Shoving it between the door, I made sure that it wouldn't break if a No Soul, or ten, tried to get in.

Going back towards where I started, I saw the she had finished her food and water. "Come on, there's a room down the hall. It looks untouched. You can sleep on a bed tonight." I didn't mention that there was a great fire escape in case we needed to get out fast. She didn't need to worry about that.

We picked up our bags, and I jammed a piece of two by four, that was supposed to be used to fix the ceiling by the looks of it, into the stairwell doors. Then I led her a few doors over, and turned right into a pretty large room.

"Okay, lay down and fall asleep." I said a little too harshly. I wasn't running on a lot of sleep, but I didn't mean to take it out on her. She was used to it though, nodding as she sat on the edge of the bed. She slipped off her shoes, put the knife on the bedside table, and curled into a ball under the thinnest sheet. Within a few minutes, I heard her breathing even out, and her soft snoring filled the room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I held my axe in hand, and put my loaded gun next to me. I kept my gaze trained on the door, but my vision got fuzzier and fuzzier.

I awoke with a jolt to the sound of tapping. Cursing at myself, I checked the bed. She was still asleep, but I couldn't believe I had followed suit.

There was more tapping, and I picked up my gun and turned. I thought it was from the door, maybe a No Soul, but it was from behind me. Turning, I saw four men crowed on the fire escape. They didn't look too friendly either.

The man in front had black hair, and I noticed he was in a police uniform. Behind him stood a large black man, bald, in a light gray shirt with the sleeves pulled up to his shoulders. A young Asian man was behind him, and he kept eyeing up the other guy. His face was covered with a ball cap. Those three didn't look too threatening, but the fourth one defiantly did.

He wore a dirty, sleeveless shirt. His weight kept transferring from one foot to the other, either as a nervous habit, or to keep anger from bubbling over. The crossbow in his arms, loaded, was pointing at me through the window. I leveled my gun with him, raised my chin, and tried to hide my fear.

"Who the hell are you?" I whispered, not wanting to wake and frighten the little girl.

"We're just trying to find someone. We won't hurt you." The man in uniform tried to calm me, his southern accent peeking through.

"Not until he puts away his weapon." At this, the man with the crossbow scoffed, and I just shrugged. "You do it, or you stay out there." Yeah it was risky, but this glass was thick due to the height of the floor. It would take one arrow to break the glass, and one to hit me. I could shoot him by that time.

"Daryl, put it down." The uniformed one ordered, and the man, Daryl?, glared at him, but listened.

"The rest of ya got guns?" I muttered, not liking the odds if they all had weapons.

"Just my pistol, but I wouldn't shoot it here. Too many Walkers." He seemed honest enough, but that type of logic could get me killed. The girl was waking up though, and I didn't want her to wake up to this.

"Fine. It stays in it's holster. Keep quiet." I unlocked the window and moved back so they could walk in.

"What are you-" The officer started, but I shook my head.

"We'll talk in the next room over." I pointed with my gun towards the door. They followed, the only one putting up a fight was Daryl, who I realized his crossbow was strapped, in reach, on his back.

He finally followed, and I glanced back at the girl in the bed one last time before shutting the door. I left all the time, but always came back. It would be fine.

We got into the next room, and I raised the gun, keeping it locked at the crossbow wielding Daryl.

"What do you want?" I muttered, keeping one ear out for any noise outside this room.

"We're looking for a man." The Asian one muttered, looking between me and Daryl.

"Haven't seen any that can talk for the past three weeks." No Souls don't talk, an easy way to tell them apart from the living.

"That's all we needed. Can we help you in any way? You taking care of that little girl?" The officer asked. It seemed nice enough, but I wasn't one for taking help.

Before I could answer, there was a loud scream from the other room. I didn't block her door. I didn't wake her. Something might have gotten her.

Running through the door, I heard the men behind me. Getting to her room, I saw that the door was open, and she was laying on the floor, a man on top of her, snarling. A No Soul.

"No!" I screamed, pulling out my knife and lunging at the creep. Hitting him through the temple, I felt him go limp under me. Leaving my knife in his skull, I crawled over to her.

My leg was stinging, and looking down I saw that there was a large gash in my leg. My heart stopped. It wasn't a bite, but a scratch was just as bad.

Looking over at the girl, I saw that she clutched her knife, and blood was dripping off of it. My blood.

"Lucy?" I whispered, looking her over. There was a bite on her shoulder, and blood seeped over her clothes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking at my leg. "I was trying to kill him…I cut you…" She seemed to be in shock, not feeling the pain. I wasn't feeling mine either, just a dull throb which should have been much worse. My hands hovered over her wound, not sure what to do.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry…I didn't save you." I brushed hair out of her eyes, feeling a lump in my though.

She took a sharp inhale of breath, and I realized she must have felt the pain now. Tears streamed down her face, and she let out sobs.

"It hurts! Make it stop, it hurts!" Her back arched in pain, and I was struggling to keep everything at bay.

"I know Lucy, I know." I pet her face, trying to sooth her.

"I don't want to die. Please, I don't want to die!" She took another sharp breath. "It hurts!"

I've seen this happen. She would be in pain until she bled out. I couldn't let her go through that, and then she would turn into a No Soul. I couldn't just let her go through that. With trembling hands, I pulled out my gun.

"No! I don't want to die." She cried, eyeing up my gun.

"Lucy, it's okay. I'll make the pain stop. And then you'll be with Mom and Dad, and Brian. Don't you want to be with them? There won't be any No Souls, and you can run and play, and there isn't anymore pain." My eyes began to water.

"Henry too?" The tears still trailed, but I could tell the pain wasn't lessening. The wound wasn't big, a small bite at most. It would take another few minutes of this pain until she bled out.

"Yeah Lucy, Henry too." I placed the gun to her head, trying to steady my hand so it would be one shot, painless.

"That sounds good." I nodded, and her eyes locked with mine. "I love you."

"I love you too, Lucy." A tear fell from my cheek, and landed with hers. With a twitch of my finger, I ended her pain. The best that I could do. One shot, one bullet through the head, then eternal peace.

Pulling myself into a seated position, I saw all the boys looking at me, horror in some faces, admiration in others. My eyes flew to my leg, and I pulled a breathe though my clenched teeth, the pain hitting me full force.

"Yes." I whispered.

They looked at each other, confused. The Asian boy had his eyes on Lucy, in utter shock himself. The officer met my gaze. "Yes what?"

"Yes, I could use some help." I brushed away a tear, and leaned my head back against the wall, the black creeping around me, narrowing my vision. "Just don't leave her here…"

There was shuffling, and I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, one under my knees, the other around my shoulders. Leaning my head against the person's chest, I clutched my gun tightly in my hand. Then everything went black.

_How did y'all like it? It's said, but I thought one of my better story intro's. Now there is so far that this can go. I want to try to follow the show's story line as closely as I can, just adding some here and there so that my character is in the story. I want to leave mystery, and have things that seem so trivial hidden until the right time. The first few chapters won't follow it perfectly, you know, a few bumps in the road, but after that I'll follow it closely. Leave a review, and let me know what you think. _


	2. Chapter 2

"When do you think she'll be waking up?" A soft voice, reminding me of my mother, asked. I was just being pulled from a groggy sleep, and my leg feels like it's being ripped apart.

"I don't know. That poor girl, boys said she had to take out that girl herself." Another woman's voice, but not as soft, sounded like she had more of an opinion.

"You know I can hear you." I groaned out, finally forcing my eyes open.

"Oh!" The two woman in front of me were folding clothes, and seemed truly startled.

"Where the am I? Where's Lucy?" I threw my leg over the bed and tried to stand, but buckled to the ground. "Damnit!" I hissed through my teeth, grabbing my leg.

"Lori, go get Dale and Daryl!" The woman closest to me, the one with the motherly voice, told the other. She moved closer to me, but didn't touch me after I hissed at her when she tried. She appeared to be in her forties, although her short cut gray hair made her look older. A nasty bruise was on her face, giving her the look of a fighter, or a victim.

The other woman appeared before I could even truly register that she left, with two men in tow. An elderly man, hair white, in an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt was the first one in, followed closely by the man with the crossbow. Great.

"Where the hell is Lucy!" I yelled out, more of a demand then a question.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. Don't you remember?" The one who ran off to get the men softly cooed at me, adding fuel to the fire.

"Leave me the fuck alone! Just tell me where Lucy is and we'll leave!" I growled, moving away from everyone.

"Why don't you leave? Me and Daryl will talk to her." The older man told the girls, and they nodded and left.

"Why do I need to stay 'ere?" Daryl growled, to which the other man just held up his hand.

The older man crouched near me, and I just moved farther into the wall. "Where. Is. Lucy?" I muttered, the pain almost too much for me to bear.

"You know what happened to her." He was matter of fact, yet still gentle. Like my grandfather before he died, thankfully before this epidemic.

I tilted my head back against the wall and took a few slow breaths. I wasn't going to cry in front of these men. Prior to early today, I hadn't cried in a few years. Tears were useless and just a sign of weakness. Yet since Lucy died, I felt like I was supposed to. "Can I have something for my leg? It hurts like a bitch."

I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Daryl trying to stifle a laugh. "And what the fuck is so damn funny, Crossbow?" Names were useless, just too personal for this new world. Another plus, it seemed to get him mad.

"Jus' most girls 'ere don't curse." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Little Red."

"Oh ha ha. How original." I got that dumb nickname all the time, thanks to my God damn hair.

"Go get her something, Daryl."

He huffed, then walked off, hopefully getting me medicine or something.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked the older man who was still crouched in front of me.

"We're in my RV, on a mountain a few miles away from the city. You're safe here."

Nodding, I kept my eyes locked on his. "Where is Lucy's body?" I remembered everything about today. I told them not to leave her, and they better not have.

"Outside. She's ready to be buried whenever you're ready to."

"Give me some medicine and then I'll do it." At this time, Daryl appeared again, a small orange container in his hand. Pills.

"You don't have to do it alone." The older man said, while Daryl leaned over and handed me the pills, then a bottle of water.

"I'm not going to do it with anyone who she'd never seen before." I put the pills in my mouth, then a swig of water. Then I sat there, waiting for the pain to fade.

"Why the hell is that?" Daryl asked, leaning against the wall of the RV.

"It's part of an old story my parents used to tell us. They said that a funeral is a celebration of their life, not mourning of their death. They told us that when you're buried, your soul comes out of your body and looks around. It has to see faces that it knows, so that it knows it's loved, then goes to heaven. But if it doesn't see people it knows, it gets scared, and runs away, forever cursed to roam the earth." I shook my head and looked at Daryl. "Crazy, I know, but she always believed that."

"She must've been crazy."

The medicine hadn't fully kicked in, but it had dulled some. I forced myself to my feet and got in his face. "Listen here, Crossbow." I spit out the new nickname as if it were a curse. "You don't say an ill word about that girl. You don't like me, fine. I can take it. But I'll be damned if I'll stand for anything bad said about her."

He looked me up and down and slowly nodded. "Let's go bury her then." His blue eyes flickered with anger, which I'm sure mirrored mine.

Nodding, I stood up taller, feeling proud. "If they want, the others can come." I muttered, but then gave Daryl a stern look. "The ones that were with you, I mean."

"Yeah, whatever." He disappeared to go get them, and the older man slowly guided me towards a hole in the earth, in a nice meadow, away from everyone else. Up on a hill, where the sun lit up the earth, and flowers scattered the earth. Her body was wrapped in one of the hotel sheets, and she was placed next to the hole. Only her dull red hair peeked out from the sheet.

The older man nodded, then left me be. I crouched down next to her and smoothed out her hair. I heard footsteps, and raised my head to see the four men. "You don't have to be here, you know." I whispered, seeing the looks on the men's faces.

"We know. She deserves a proper funeral." The officer whispered, and I noticed that the Asian and black man held flowers. I allowed myself to smile slightly.

"Thanks." That was something that was hard for me to say. I stood up, with effort, and moved to put her in the hole.

"We can do that." The Asian stepped forward. I nodded and moved to the side, leaning against the shovel which was upright in a pile of dirt. My leg was nearly giving out, and I needed to give it a rest.

The Asian put the flowers on the ground, and him and Daryl stepped forward. I was shocked Daryl did, but he just flashed me a look, picking her up by her shoulders. The look portrayed many emotions; pity, sorrow, regret…a lot more than I thought I'd see from him.

They carefully put her body in the hole, and they stepped out.

"You ganna say a prayer or something'?" Daryl asked, tilting his head towards me.

Taking a deep breath, I clenched my teeth. "No. All that God shit is just that, shit. He wouldn't have let her die." I picked up the shovel in my hands and took a small scoop of dirt, but it just hovered over the hole. I had to say something.

"I'm sorry." With that, I tipped the dirt into the hole. Another scoop, then another. After a while, Daryl came and took the shovel from me, and the Asian boy led me back towards camp.

I stopped part way though, and picked up the flowers he had put on the ground. "Goodbye Lucy. Have fun with the family." I tossed one of the delicate white roses into the hole, watching it being covered by dirt before I followed the boy back towards camp.

"I'm Glenn, by the way." The boy muttered, but I quickly shoved the name out of my mind.

"I don't mean to be rude and all, but I'm not one for names." He gave me a look and I shrugged. "Harder to leave if anything happens."

He nodded, hesitantly, but led me towards a large fire. "Hungry?"

I shook my head quickly. "Not really. My leg's hurting though. I'll just…" I jerked my thumb towards the RV.

"Yeah, sure…" With that, I hobbled towards the RV, then into the back room, where I had woken up.

Pulling myself into the middle of the bed, I hiked my pant leg up, looking at my leg. There was an ugly scar where the gash had been. It was in the middle of my thigh, diagonal, about seven inches long. I couldn't tell how deep it was, all I could see was that there were stitches that closed it up, and it sure wasn't pretty.

Running my finger over it, I felt the medicine take it's full effect. Now there was only a dull throb.

"Are ya okay?" The thick southern accent took me off guard. Everyone here seems to have one. Well, most of them. But Daryl had the thickest. I wasn't used to it, since I wasn't from around here.

"I'm alive, aren't I?" I pulled my pant leg down and glared at him. "What the hell do you want, Crossbow?"

"Just givin' ya yer' shit, Little Red." He tossed two bags onto the bed, and I quickly pulled one to my chest, the small dirt colored one. Lucy's.

Opening it, I glanced at him. He had taken a seat on a chair, pulled his crossbow onto his lap, and was cleaning his arrows. "_Your _leg is just fine. You can leave." I nearly growled. I wanted him gone. I didn't want to be here, but I was in no shape to travel. As soon as I was though, I was gone.

"An' what the hell would ya do if Walkers came and attacked ya?" He shook his head and inspected a bow. "Trust me, I don't like it anym're than ya do."

"I could protect myself just fine from the No Souls if I had my weapons."

"What the hell kind of name is No Soul?" He scoffed, but tossed something onto the bed. I grabbed it and inspected it closely. It was my knife. I attached it to my good leg, and looked at him.

"Better than Walkers. And where the hell is my gun?"

"'Round 'ere, we don't let no girls use guns. Ya get spooked at damn near everythin', and will go poppin' off rounds."

"I was doing just fine until your group showed up." I dropped it, and he seemed to not want it to continue more than I did and just let it stop.

Opening her bag up all the way, I started to pull out the materials that Lucy had when she died, most of it came from the hotel room. A pair of socks, a box of tissues, a first-aid kit, a reusable water bottle, and a book. At the bottom of the bag was some things she had when we ran off. A necklace with a small butterfly on it, chap stick, and a piece of paper.

Pulling the paper to my face, I saw that it was a poem that she found next to our neighbor's body. Our neighbor probably wrote it before she shot herself and all of her kids.

_Each step longing for the impossible,_

_Trying to accept the unacceptable, _

_Day by day learning how to survive, _

_Desiring just to feel alive._

_Wondering when will the peace begin,_

_While seeking for the madness to end, _

_World tossing and turning at a beat,_

_While still experiencing a lonely defeat._

_One day their here and the next their gone,_

_Dragging yourself just to carry on,_

_Seeing the memories of their face,_

_All you have to give is a empty place._

_Waiting and longing for your first breath,_

_Mind, body, and soul will finally be at rest,_

_Even though you only see pain and sorrow,_

_Still believing there will be a better tomorrow._

"Little Red?" Daryl muttered. Lifting my head, I saw that he was staring me down, elbows on knees, just watching.

"What?" I quickly shoved the paper back into her bag, not wanting to think about how perfectly it fit our new world.

"What's your name?"

Shaking my head, I looked him up and down. "Name's were for the old world, where we could spend out time worry about what the name means, meeting new people, and remembering names. In this new hell hole, they just make everything harder. It's too personal, just leading to an attachment."

"What the hell does that mean?" He huffed, titling his head slightly in confusion.

"It means that if you know my name, and I call you by yours, it'll be harder to leave, to slip through the cracks and never be heard of again."

"Why the fuck do you want that to happen?"

"Because I have enough ghosts from my past haunting me already. I don't need any more." Glancing down at Lucy's bag, I fiddled with the straps. "I don't need anymore blood on my hands."

_Like it so far? I do. Not exactly sure where this is going. Most of my stories just seem to flow and live their own lives. That poem is called "A Better Tomorrow" and I found it on a website. It was written by someone with the screen name: stand2endure. Review and let me know what you think!_


	3. Chapter 3

The nightmares wouldn't stop. I just kept seeing myself taking Lucy's life. That last moment together, the blood, the No Soul, the gunshot. I woke up with a jolt, and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark of the RV. The only sound was Daryl's soft snoring.

Throwing my legs over the bed, I laced up my boots, threw my bag over my shoulder, and stood. My leg was healing, and now I could walk without pain, just with a dull throb and a slight limp. I strapped my knife onto my leg and started to slowly limp out of the RV.

I made my way towards Lucy's grave. Someone was supposed to be on watch on the roof of the RV, and there was…sort of. The Asian boy was sitting on the lawn chair up there, but he was asleep.

Shuffling my way up to the to of the hill, I sat down next to the large rock which had been placed as her grave marker. I ran my hand over the dirt pile and sighed.

"Hey, Lucy." I whispered. Yes, it was odd to talk to a grave, but I didn't have any other person in the world to talk to.

"So, these people aren't too bad here. You would have liked them. There is a little girl here that reminds me of you." I felt the cool dirt sift through my fingers. "Her and this other his other little boy are really nice. They even study. I know that you wanted to keep studying, but we couldn't. You really would have liked it here.

"But, I think I'm leaving soon…I'm really sorry. These people are nice though. Maybe they'll keep visiting you. Keep your flowers fresh." I traced the ridges of the rock and shook my head. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry that I let that creature get you. That should have been me. I should have locked your door. No, I shouldn't have left. I should have just let those boys go away." I lowered my head in shame. "I'm sorry."

"Ya didn't kill her." The voice came from behind me. Pulling my knife from the holster on my leg, I turned, creating a protective barrier from the person and Lucy.

"Leave me alone, Crossbow." I moved to my butt, knife still firmly in my hand.

"I don't get why yer' so upset. Ya didn't kill her." He walked over and sat a little bit away from me.

"Because if you and those other guys didn't come, she wouldn't have died." I jabbed the knife into the ground, twisting it angrily.

He was quiet for a while, then he shifted slightly. "Ya don't have to leave."

"Yes, I do. I don't do good in groups. Lucy was the only reason I didn't run back up north after finding out that Atlanta was overrun with No Souls…or Walkers." I gave him a look. I guess that was easier to say, and made just as much sense.

"You don't sound like a southern gal. Where ya from?" He gave me a look, and I just shook my head.

"I'm not into the whole, hold hands and sing songs shit." I gave him a look and struggled to hide my smirk. "Unless you tell me where you're from."

He gave me a look. "I've got the southern drawl, why the hell does it matter where I'm from?"

"Fine, don't tell me. Then I won't tell you where I'm from." I started to write _Lucy _into the dirt with my knife.

"Mountains by northern Georgia." He put his crossbow on the ground, loaded it, and started to mess with the strap. He clearly hated small talk as much as I do. Then why was he bringing it up?

"Pennsylvania."

"What are ya doin' down 'ere then?" He put the crossbow down, eyeing me up.

"My family was on vacation. We have more family in Cumming, Georgia who we were visiting. Then all hell broke loose, and we ended up here." I made a gesture to show the living hell we are now in.

"Little Red, ya should stay wit' the group. Ya could get killed out there." He threw the crossbow over his shoulder again.

"I'm not staying here longer than I have to. I'm not one for groups." I put my knife into the holster. "Plus, no one wants me here. I haven't talked to anyone in the group other than you."

He shrugged, then looked at me. "Why are ya out 'ere anyway?" He picked a piece of grass and started to chew on it.

"Nightmares keeping me up. Thought I'd calm down up here." Suddenly, I remembered something and started to rummage through my bag.

"What ya lookin' for?" He kept nibbling on the grass, but kept his gaze locked on me.

"A way to escape all the god damn pain." I pulled out a bottle and tossed it at him, then pulled out one for myself.

"What the hell is this?" He held up the bottle.

"Vodka." I took off the top and moved the bottle to my lips. "If you think you can handle it, Crossbow."

The bottles were actually pretty big, enough me to me completely wasted, and a man his size down right drunk. "Yer' on, Little Red."

With that, we tapped our drinks together, and took a big swig. The alcohol burned my throat, and right away made my head swim. Lowering the bottle to the ground, I put my other hand down, trying to keep my balance.

"What, that all ye' got, Little Red?" He smirked and drank more of the liquid and smirked at me. "Thought ya were tougher than that."

"Shut up, Crossbow." I took another swig, and this time, the vodka didn't burn as much. We sat like that, each drinking, until I couldn't take it anymore.

Laying down, I felt like I was in water, my head tilting from side to side.

"Little Red?" Daryl asked. Tilting my head, I looked over at him. He put his bottle down, and it tipped over, empty. Mine still had about a forth of the drink in it.

"Yeah, Crossbow?" I couldn't help but giggle. I don't know why I did, it just happened. Our nicknames were stupid and lame.

"How old are ya?"

Squinting, I gave him a hard look, and noticed his lip twitched into a smirk. "Why…?

"Just wonderin'." He shrugged and flopped down, staring at the sky, still not close enough to touch me.

"Twenty-six."

"How old was yer sis?"

"Nine. My mom was…sixteen when she had me." My words were heavily slurred, and I looked up at the sky as well. "She got knocked up by some dude when she was drunk." At this, I burst out laughing.

He gave me a look. "What the hell are ye' laughin' at?"

"Just that this is the first time I've been wasted off my ass before. And the world has ended." I shook my head, then tilted it towards him, head still spinning.

He shifted so that his weight was supported on his arm. He brushed the hair out of my face, and it rested on my cheek. My eyes flew to his bright blue ones. "Crossbow?"

"Yeah, Little Red?"

"I don't really want to leave."

He gently ran his thumb over my cheek. "Ya sure as hell ain't leavin' now." He leaned forward, and my eyes fluttered close. I could feel his breath on my mouth, our lips were inches from touching. His woodsy smell filled my nose, and all I wanted to do was feel his lips on mine.

There was a gunshot, and we both tensed. My eyes flew open, and he pulled us to our feet. "Stay behind me." He ordered, pulling the crossbow off his back. I pulled my bag onto my back, and pulled out the knife.

I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and tried to match his pace. He seemed to have sobered up, while my head still spun out of control.

We made it back to camp, and it was overrun with Walkers, but there were more unmoving on the ground. Most of the group were huddled together up by the RV.

"Hurry up, Little Red!" Daryl called, shooting an arrow through a Walkers head.

"I'm trying! It's my leg!" My leg was throbbing, and I was struggling to limp after Daryl.

I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, and turned around fast enough to nail it in the head.

After another minute, the two of us were at the RV. Daryl pushed me against the RV and stood in front of me. By this time though, all the Walkers were on the ground.

It was too dark to see much of the disaster, but I couldn't see much anyway since everything was spinning like I was on a merry-go-round.

"Little Red?" Daryl asked, just as I started to slide down the side of the RV. "Damn it." He picked me up and carried me into room in the back. "A girl drinks a little and all of a sudden she can't stand on her own." He started to grumble, then tossed me onto the bed. Before I could argue, I slipped into a deep, drunken sleep.

Waking up, I felt my head pounding. "Ugh." I held my head between my hands, trying to get it to stop spinning, and hoping that I wouldn't throw up whatever I had in my stomach.

"Ya really can't hold down yer' liquor, can ya?" Daryl walked over to me, handing me a cup of instant coffee.

"Screw you, Crossbow." I whispered, taking a sip of the coffee.

"I'm not the one who drank more than I could handle." He shrugged, but I saw that his gaze was locked outside.

"What happened last night?" When I asked this, he linked his eyes with mine. I saw a little bit of pink go to his cheeks.

"Ya don't remember nothin'?" He whispered, eyeing me up.

I felt pink hit my own cheeks. "Shut up, dumbass. I meant why the fuck are you looking out the window like some sort of bitch waiting for her husband to come home?" Yeah, not a fan of being hung over.

His lip twitched and he sighed. "Walkers attacked camp. We lost some people."

Taking another sip of the coffee, I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair. Putting down the coffee, I looked at him. "Okay, let's go see if we can help."

He gave me a look. "Ya think ya can handle it?"

I glared at him and tried to not totally go ape shit on him. "I'm not some sort of bitch who needs to be protected. I can handle myself. So fuck you." I stormed out of the RV, realizing that my leg hurt a little more than it did yesterday before everything went down.

Walking outside, I saw mass bodies that laid everywhere. One that caught my eye was the blonde sisters. Since Daryl was trailing behind me, I looked at him. "What's going on over there?"

"Amy died, Andrea won't let us deal wit her."

I was hung over and so fed up with all the girl being bitches and complaining. "Dear god." I stormed over to her, and crouched in front of the one who was still alive. "Alright, blondie, listen. In a little bit, she's ganna become this undead freak. Ya gotta send a bullet through her head. I know its hard, but it's better."

"What the hell do you know?" She sniffled, and I rolled my eyes.

"I had to put down my sister down." I shrugged.

She gave me a look and nodded, pulling out her gun. But she didn't shoot her.

Rolling my eyes, I stood up and walked back over to Daryl. "Dumbass." I muttered, leaning against the RV.

"I say we put a pick axe through her head." He muttered, and I nodded.

"Bullet, pick axe, whatever. Just end it all fucking ready." Looking around, I shrugged. "What can I do to help, ya think?"

Looking around, he scratched his chin. "Should probably hit all of 'em in the head, make sure they don't come back."

Nodding, I walked up to the officer. "Me and Crossbow are ganna take care of all the walkers. Ya got a pick axe I can use?"

He looked me up and down and sighed. "Here." He reached into the bed of a pick-up and handed the axe to me. Then he turned back to the group. "What are we going to do about her? She needs to be dealt with."

I walked back over to Daryl. "Alright, you coming or what, Crossbow?" I didn't stop my pace as I walked to the group of bodies over by a tent. Lifting my pick axe, I slammed it through a random walker's head. I continued in this manner until the woman I met my first day came over.

"I'll do it. He was my husband." She looked down at the man I was about to shove the axe into. I didn't recognize him, but dead is dead at this point. I handed her the axe, and moved to the side. Daryl walked up behind me, and we both watched as she lifted the weapon and brought it down on his head, crying all the while.

She gave me back the weapon, and Daryl and I made our way back towards the RV. One guy who I hadn't seen until this point was sitting in front of the RV.

"What the hell happened to him?" I muttered to Daryl.

He took the pick axe from my hands and threw it over his shoulder casually. "Got bit."

I stood up taller. "What? Why the fuck is he still sitting there?" He just shrugged, and I walked over to the officer and this guy who's face looked like it was engraved with a scowl. "What the fuck is going on?"

They both looked at me, confused. "Excuse me?" The angry one asked.

"That guy is bit, and we're just going to sit around and wait until he gets a desire to eat our flesh?" I put both hands on my hip and dared them to say something.

"No defense, little lady, but you're not even a part of this group."

I made a face and crossed my arms over my chest. "Fine, but you seem to be loosing a hell of a lot of members. You want me gone though, fine! Just don't come crying to me when that guy over there starts to eat your face." I threw my hands up, shrugging, and walked over to a pick up truck, sitting on the hood. I started to categorize all of my items, seeing what I needed to steal from this group.

As I watched, Daryl lifted his pick axe and ran at the infected man. Damn straight, someone had to do it. But he was stopped part way, the officer holding a gun to his head.

"What the fuck?" I hobbled over and glared at the officer. "You won't fucking kill the infected one, but you'll raise a gun at Crossbow?"

"We don't kill the living."

"S'funny, coming from the man who just put a gun to my head." Daryl muttered, staring down the barrel of the gun.

"Put it down." Scowl muttered, and Daryl shoved the pick axe into the ground.

"You are all dumb asses." I muttered, moving towards the RV. Storming inside, I started to throw all of my items into the bag that was on my back, then started to rummage through the drawers, trying in vain to find my gun, or any gun for that matter.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Daryl muttered. I hadn't even heard him walk into the RV, but I didn't falter in my movements.

"Leaving. You heard that one guy, I'm not part of the group. So why the hell should I stay?"

Daryl moved closer to me, and I stopped, backing away from him. He was angry. "Because these jackasses don't have a fucking clue how to protect themselves. You, you know how to protect someone. This group will die if ya leave."

Shaking my head, I clenched and unclenched my fists. "Obviously not! I can't protect anyone, or else that little girl out there wouldn't be six feet under!" I fumed, and started pacing. I was about to yell out another thing, when a shot rang through the air. I took a step back, and drew my knife.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked, whirling around.

"Blondie finally doin' what had to be done."

Looking at him, I put the knife away and shrugged on my bag. "It's about god damn time." I looked at him and tried not to glare. "Give me a gun."

He reached into his waistband and pulled out a revolver. "I will, if ya promise to stay." He held out the gun, waiting for me to take it.

I did, I slipped it into my own waistband and looked him over. "I'll stay, but I'm not going to promise for how long." I shouldered past him, making my way back to the group. "I'm not making any other damn promises."

_Like it? Hate it? Let me know! I know that time line was a little jumbled, but I thought it made more sense. Shane took away Daryl's pick axe, but then he goes and shoves it into the dead Walker's heads? I just changed it because it made more sense. Oh, and since the main character doesn't want to learn anyone's names, very few people will have their name's said. Daryl is said only because she heard him referred to as that, but she doesn't want to call him it. If you're ever confused with who I'm talking about, let me know! _


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Okay, I'm getting mixed reviews on this girl. Some people love to finally see someone with guts in the group, while others want her to be a little softer. I hope this pleases you both. I'm trying!_

"We're going to the CDC." Officer called out to the group, and I just shook my head.

"I've been to Atlanta. It's a sinking ship. Nothing's there." I said, shaking my head. This was bull. I wasn't about to walk right into my death.

"I said it before, I'll say it again. You're not part of this group, you don't get a say." Scowl growled at me. Damn he was pissing me off.

"Oh really? And what do I have to do to join this oh so mighty group? Hum?" I was sitting on the hood of Daryl's pick up, and the group had made a circle.

"Protect the group, take down a few Walkers." He took a step towards me, to which I just leaned forward, hoping to egg him on.

"I took out a Walker yesterday. That doesn't count?"

"One damn Walker doesn't mean shit. Ya gotta earn yer spot here."

I was waiting for him to say that. "So those two kids there, did they earn their spot? Are they part of the group?"

"That's different. They're kids."

"Then what about her?" I jerked my thumb towards the woman who beat the crap out of her husband's dead body. "How many Walker's have she killed?" I have taken a liking to that term. Walker sounded better than No Souls.

"Leave her out of it." Officer muttered, and I shook my head.

"You don't get it. I need to know what it'll take for me to be in your god damn group."

Scowl shook his head. "Don't know, don't give a damn. We'll know when it happens."

"Fine. I still think CDC's a bust." I shrugged, leaning back on the hood, waiting for someone else to get enough balls to say their input.

Apparently no one did, because other than Scowl, everyone agreed. I jumped off the hood of the car and shrugged. "Fine. Just tell me who's car I'm going in."

Everyone gave me a look, and it seemed like no one gave enough of a damn about me to say where I was going.

"Where do you want to go?" The old man asked. I still didn't have a name for him yet. Most of the ones that came to my mind were too mean for him. He seemed nice enough.

"Well I can tell ya where I don't wanna go." I crossed my arms and sighed. "But if no one wants me, I can just go on my merry way."

"She'll ride with me." Daryl shrugged, then hit me in the arm gently enough. "Come on."

Nodding, I followed him towards a tent that I didn't see. I'm not one being observant apparently. "What the hell is this?" I asked, seeing all sort of things thrown around.

"My camp." He shrugged and started to take down the tent. I walked over and helped, then put all of the items that were thrown around into a bag I found on the ground. I didn't bother to look at what I was putting where, nor did I feel like I should look that far into this man's stuff.

I heard the RV roar to life, and nudged Daryl. "Crossbow, we should get going."

He nodded, pulled the collapsed tent into his arms. Walking over to the pick up truck, I tossed all that was in my arms into the bed of the pick up, then moved to the front of the truck. I slid into the passenger seat, and he slipped behind the wheel. Turning on the car, he started to follow the caravan of cars.

Resting my head against the window, I sighed. "Ya ganna be sick, Little Red?"

"Nah, Crossbow, I'm fine. Just sucks to leave her behind."

He didn't answer, but glancing over at him, I saw him nodding. "Y'all be okay."

"I know…" Sighing, I nibbled on the inside of my cheek. "So do you think that we should be going to the CDC?"

"I don't know. Better than stayin' on that damn mountain." It was my turn to nod.

We sat in silence for a while, and it wasn't too bad. I glanced behind us and smirked. "Nice bike."

He nodded. "It's my brothers." I gave him a look, which he returned. Obviously he didn't want to talk about it, so I let it drop. I chuckled, and shook my head. "What the fuck are you laughin' at, Red?"

"You have the quietest weapon I've ever seen, and the loudest fucking vehicle I've ever heard."

He gave me a look, then chuckled softly. "Guess ya gotta point there." His eyes were on me for longer than it should have been, and I shifted uncomfortably. The caravan started to slow, and Daryl cursed, pulling the car over to the side.

We both got out, and I sat on the hood of the car again. They didn't want me in the group, fine. I would stay here by myself, and listen.

"I told ya we'd never get far on the hose. That's why I needed that one from the cube van." The old man muttered to Officer.

"Can ya jerry rig it?" Officer asked, fixing his hat.

"That's what I've been doin' so far. It's more duct tape than hose." He paused, looking at the engine. "And I'm out of duct tape."

Scowl held up a pair of binoculars, looking up the road. "I see something up ahead. Gas station if we're lucky." He looked around.

The black woman ran out of the RV. "Y'all, Jim. He's bad. I don't think he can take it." She ran back in, being followed by Rick. Daryl made his way back over to me.

"Everything okay?" I asked, moving over so he could join me on the hood.

He looked at the spot for a moment, then sat down next to me. "Nah, Jim's loosin' it. I don't think he'll make it to the CDC." He shrugged and looked me over.

"It's about time someone puts him out of his misery." I leaned back on my hands, moving my injured leg to keep it loose.

"Would ya want that if it were you?" He asked.

Turning, I looked at him, then back at the sky. "Yup. I saw the pain on Lucy's face when she was being turned. It's gotta be terrifying. If I couldn't shoot myself, I would want someone to do it for me." I gave him a look, and he nodded slightly.

"Same here. Bullet through the head sounds a lot better than turning into those freaks."

We saw Jim being led out of the RV and towards a tree. I watched, but didn't move.

"Ya ganna go say bye, Little Red?" He peeked at me, and I shook my head.

"Hell no. They don't like me, I don't like them. And I don't like pity."

Daryl slung his arm over my shoulder in a causal way and shook me slightly. "Well I don't give it."

Nodding, I jumped off the hood. "Good." The group was making it's way back towards their cars, and I moved into the cab. Daryl followed suit, following the RV. We didn't have any small talk, which just made me happy. Small talk usually leads to pasts, and I didn't want to get into that.

Pulling up to the building, I looked over at Daryl. "This is the CDC?"

"Yup." He looked around and we saw all of the dead bodies. "Stay close though, okay Little Red? Don't want anything bad happenin' to ya."

I was about to argue, but then the mass number of people hit me and I just kept my mouth shut and nodded.

Getting out of the car, I automatically gagged. I pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth, which didn't help protect me from the smell of rotting flesh.

"Problem, Little Red?' He asked, but his face was scrunched up, showing his disgust with it.

"Shut up, Crossbow." I pulled out the revolver he gave me earlier, pulled back the hammer, then slid it back into my waistband. I wanted to be able to pull it out and shoot if it came to it. But since that would attract to many walkers, I pulled out my knife instead, then walked half a step in front of Daryl. I felt his hand gently brush the small of my back as he guided me forward, crossbow armed and ready.

We got to the door, and someone started to pound on the door. Someone else realized no one was answering. "No one's there!"

My heart dropped. Everyone started to argue, but I felt Daryl tense beside me. "Walkers!" The sound of an arrow slicing through the air followed, and then Daryl stormed over towards Officer. "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a choice!" Someone else argued, but I was just scanning the land, something no one else seemed to do. The mothers had pulled their kids closer, and were huddling together, about a stone throw away from me.

The little girl let out a scream as a Walker grabbed her leg. People turned, but no one would risk shooting, not wanting to hit the girl. That didn't matter to me.

Running forward, I quickly thrust the knife into the Walkers skull, pulled out my weapon and wiped it on my pant leg. Looking the girl up and down, I didn't see any bite marks. "You alright?"

Tears still streamed down her cheeks, but she nodded quickly. With that, I jumped up and started to search again. Daryl was hitting Walkers left and right, but he was running low on arrows. While he ran to retrieve his ammo, I picked up where he left off. While I jabbed my knife into an ugly ass bitch Walker's head, I heard everyone starting to move, but the Officer. He was screaming about us going to die. Great confidence boost there.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and bright light. I froze, and turned towards Daryl. He lowered his weapon and had his gaze on the opening.

"Well don't just stand there! Get your asses in!" I yelled as three Walkers advanced on us. I didn't try to take out another one, I just broke into a sprint towards the opening. Everyone followed suit. I only paused to let the kids and scared mothers in front of me, quickly following.

Daryl and I slammed the doors shut, and I swallowed thickly when I saw the shear mass of them banging on the doors. They were hungry. I glanced at Daryl and tried to hide my utter fear.

"Hello?" Officer called out.

We all raised our weapons at the sound of a gun being cocked.

"Anyone infected?" A man in a white lab coat asked, coming out of the shadows. A loaded shotgun was in his hands.

"One of our men were…He didn't make it." I saw most lower their heads, but I kept my gaze on the man, and realized that I had taken out my pistol and pointed it at the man.

"Why are you here, what do you want?" He sounded panicked, and it didn't make me feel better. Nervous plus gun equaled dead. Simple as that.

"A chance." Officer's voice quivered, and I had to clench my jaw from saying something that wouldn't really help us right now.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." He took a few steps forward, and I held my pistol up higher. A hand pressed onto my stomach to stop me, and looking over I saw it was Daryl. He had put down his weapon, and I followed suit. Now it was just he man and Officer.

"I know."

The man looked over every member of our group, trying to decipher if we were any threat. His eyes lingered on Daryl and me longer than the rest, but I put my pistol into my waistband and took a slow breath. I was scared. My eyes darted to the doors, where the Walkers were trying to get in, and the man.

"You'll all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." I let out a breath and nodded to myself. Daryl relaxed next me as well.

"We can do that." Officer whispered, and I saw the little girl and boy tense. Of course, little kids don't like needles, but I'm sure they would prefer it to Walkers.

The man quickly lowered the gun and pointed to the door away from the one with all of the Walkers. "You got anything to bring it in, you do it now. Once these doors close, they stay closed."

Daryl and I quickly ran out the door he was pointing to, followed by Scowl, Officer, the Asian, and the black man. Daryl and Scowl held off the Walkers while the rest of us grabbed all of the bags from the vehicles. I did a quick once over, making sure we had absolutely everything, then ran back towards the CDC, two bags on my back, two in my hands. Daryl was hot on my heals.

The moment we all go back into the building, the old man shut the doors, and the doctor swiped a card into a device, and muttered something about killing the power.

Some sort shutters lowered, covering the doors. I felt like a trapped animal, and stepped backwards, right into Daryl. He placed a hand, awkwardly, onto the small of my back. It still gave me a small sense of comfort.

The elevator was tightly packed, and made me jittery with most people carrying weapons. I was pressed between the Asian and Daryl.

"Doctors always going around packin' heat like that?" Daryl muttered, to which I just rolled my eyes. I'm sure soon enough, both of the kids were going to be carrying guns, so why the hell did it matter. It's either guns or death in my book.

"There were enough laying around. I familiarized myself." He shrugged, and we continued towards the blood test.

Sitting around, we all waited for our blood to be drawn. So far we had learned that this man, who I chose to just call Doc, although I know his name is Jenner, is the only survivor here. Everyone had their blood taken but me, blondie, and Daryl.

"Looks like its yer tern." Daryl muttered, shoving me forward. I glared at him, but slowly limped my way over, and took a seat.

"You okay?" The man asked, prepping me for blood to be drawn.

"Fine, just take the blood." He did as I told him, and Daryl followed suit. I wasn't surprised when he didn't flinch at the needle. Then when blondie went, she nearly fell over. No of us had eaten in a while, and all of us were on the brink of falling over.

"You okay?" Doc asked.

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have."

Doc gave us a look, slapped his hands on his leg, and stood up. "Come on."

Everyone followed, and Daryl and I pulled up the rear. "Come on, Little Red."

I followed, but shrugged. "Doesn't feel right."

"Can' ya just think someone is helping' ya?" He muttered, but then nudged me with his shoulder to show he wasn't that serious.

"Just something I built up." He gave me a look and I shook my head. "You trust someone, they always let you down."

He nodded, and we ended up in a dining hall like room. Everyone piled into seats, but I just shrugged off an offer from the little girls mom to sit next to her. Instead, I moved over to the counter, boosted myself up, and dangled my feet over, watching the group eagerly take drinks that were offered.

Daryl moved over to me, wine bottle in hand, and leaned against the counter next to me. He took a swig and looked at me. "Want some?"

Taking the bottle, I took a small sip. "I'm not getting wasted like last time though." I said, passing it back to him.

"Damn." Another swig. "Yer more fun that way." He gave me a weak smile. We watched the group interact. The little boy tried wine for the first time, and hated it. I heard Daryl next to me mutter about something seeing how red the Asian boy's face could get.

Scowl started to talk about why the Doc was the only one left, and I couldn't take it anymore. I walked out of the room, just into the hall. I sat down, and started to twist my hair between my hands.

I heard footsteps next to me, and I looked up, expecting Daryl. Instead, I saw the little girl, doll in hand. "H-Hi." I mumbled, being struck with how much she reminded me of Lucy. Same height, about the same size, same eyes. Really, the only difference was her hair.

"Thank you." She whispered, a smile ghosting across her face.

"For what?"

"Saving me from the Walker." She bit her bottom lip, bent over, and quickly gave me a hug. I just barely wrapped my arms around her before she pulled back. "'Night." Then she was gone.

I sat in the hall, a smile finding it's way to my face. Who the hell cares what Scowl says. I have proven my spot in this group. And I will stay, to protect everyone, but mostly those kids. That girl was my new purpose for staying alive. If not for her, but for Lucy.

_I just wanted to show that the OC isn't a complete bitch. If you look back at the first chapter, then all of the ones after that, you'll see that she really isn't that big of a bitch. She's just trying to cope with the loss of her sister. Now she's starting to pull herself out of that, but obviously not completely. She's like Daryl, broken but still caring. Hope ya loved it!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Leyshla Gisel, because it was their birthday two days ago. So…HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And thanks for reviewing!_

Doc led us down a hall. There were doors on both sides, and he was explaining how this would be where we would be staying.

"If you shower, go easy on the hot water." With that, he left us there, in awe.

"Hot water?" The Asian boy whispered, as if it was the answer to all of his problems.

"That's what the man said." The black man laughed out, before everyone shuffled off to find their rooms.

Officer, the little boy, and mom number two (the one with the dark hair) took the biggest room next to the recreational room. The little girl and mom number one (obviously the one with the gray hair) took the second biggest.

I smirked when I realized that there were enough rooms so that no one had to share if they didn't want to. Good, I didn't like bunking. Taking the room closest to me, I shut the door and explored a little.

The bed wasn't huge, regular twin sized, but a lot better than what I'm now accustom to. There were a few drawers which held some clean clothes, extra blankets, and towels. I quickly pulled out anything that looked in my size and stuffed it into my bag, which was growing by the second. I left out a pair of flannel pajama's that looked soft, and placed my bag carefully on the bed. There was no way in hell I was about to unpack.

Grabbing a towel, I moved into the hall, trying to find the showers. I found them soon enough, just following where everyone else was running. It was odd that all of the showers were in one place, but the room was huge. All of the showers were separated, and you couldn't see anyone from one shower to the next.

Slipping into the one shower section, I turned on the water and shed my clothes. Placing them on the door, out of the water's path. Walking under the stream, I let out a soft moan. It felt amazing to have hot water after being so many weeks, so many months, without it.

Letting the water loosen up my muscle, I looked down at my leg. The stitches were hideous, and to my horror, they were due to come out soon. Whoever sewed me up was probably just someone who knows how to sew shirts and whatnot. I didn't want them anywhere near me.

Tracing the length of it, I sighed. There would be a huge scar, which was no big deal. Just another battle wound to add to the list. It just made me think about Lucy, and I didn't want to.

Realizing I wasn't following Doc's "go easy on the hot water" thing, I quickly shampooed and conditioned my hair. Running my hands through my hair one last time, I turned off the water and wrapped a towel tightly around me.

Clothes in hand, other hand keeping my towel up, I made my way back to my room. Tossing my clothes on the bed, I turned to close the door.

"Crossbow." I muttered out with a sigh, turning to pick up the pajama's, feeling my face turn a slight shade of red.

"Little Red." He returned, but I heard the slight slur of his speech.

"How drunk are you?" I questioned, holding my clothes against my chest.

"Not too much. Justa bottle of whiskey." He smirked, and looked me over.

Walking closer to him, I put a hand on his chest. "Out. At least wait 'till I'm dressed." I pushed him out into the hall, shut the door, and quickly changed. The pajama's were as soft as I had though, and I felt like I was wrapped in a warm blanket. It was cozy.

The small comforts here were almost making me forget the nightmares outside. The hot water, warm clothes, bed. I sat down on the bed, carefully placing the bag on the floor, and opened the drawer next to the bed. There laid two books; a bible and _To Kill a Mockingbird._ I grabbed the second one, pulled the blankets around me, and started to read the book.

There was a pounding on the door, and I just shook my head. "Go away, Crossbow!" Last time we were drunk, it didn't go to well. Okay, it went great, but there was no need to do that again.

The door flew open, and he just stood there. He was drunk, but still not wasted. It must take a whole liquor store to get him wasted. "Now, now Little Red. That's no fun." He smirked and walked over to the bed, sitting down.

"I'm serious Crossbow." I struggled to keep my gaze locked on the book, but I kept peeking at him.

He laid down and let out a groan. "Damn headache."

I laughed at this and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You deserve it! Drinking that damn much."

"Shut up, Red." He groaned, covering his head with his hands.

I continued to read the book, but only remembered part of it, because my eyes kept flickering to the sleeping redneck next to me. He dozed off, and when he started to snore softly, I gave up. Putting the book on the bed side table, I nudged him.

"Come on, Crossbow. You have to get up now." I shook his arm, but he just groaned and turned. I tried to back away, but just ended up moving closer to the bed as he draped his arm lazily over my waist.

My stomach started to flip, and I smiled weakly to myself. He was asleep. It didn't mean anything. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to move out of his grasp. Instead, I gently nibbled on my bottom lip, and slid farther under the covers, facing him. Gently, I ran my hand down his cheek, his neck, and his arms.

Scanning his face, I tried to take in every detail. He had taken a shower, and all the grime that seemed to have been part of him was gone. His hair was still damp and clung to his forehead. I haven't been this close to a man…ever. Even before the world went to hell. Slowly, making sure not to wake him, I gently placed a kiss on his cheek, and pulled back. Smiling, I snuggled farther into the blankets, and closed my eyes.

Daryl's grip on me tightened slightly, and my eyes flew to his face. His eyes were still closed, but it looked like a smile ghosted his face. Was he awake?

Ah, who the hell cares. I placed my hand over his and closed my eyes, letting myself enjoy this small luxury. Normally, I wouldn't ever let myself do this…get close to someone. But he was drunk, wouldn't remember this in the morning. It wasn't anything. Hell, he was still Crossbow, and I'm still Little Red. Nothing's changed.

Waking up, I noticed a lack of presence next to me. I let out a small groan, but sat up, stretching, and itched my head.

"'Mornin'." I let out a yelp and looked towards the voice. Daryl was sitting on the floor across from the bed, flipping through my book.

"What the hell are you doing?"

He shrugged and put the book down next to him. "Waitin' for ya to get yer ass outta bed."

"You didn't have to." I gave him a look, but just got out of bed and opened my bag, pulling out some clothes to wear. I settled on a pair of jeans that I would fold up until just below my knees, and a baggy red, blue and black flannel shirt.

"I know." Giving him a look, I saw his lips twitch up into an almost smile.

"I need to change." I muttered, waiting for him to leave.

He gave me a look, shrugged, then stepped into the hall. I figured he would wait there until I walked out, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought. I needed to find out whether or not he was too drunk to remember last night or not, but that was for later.

Slipping out of the pajamas, I quickly slid them into the bag, then put on the jeans and shirt, folding the jeans to the knees.

Sifting around a few other drawers, I found several hair ties, and a brush. I quickly ran the brush through my hair, then pulled the red mess into a high pony. Throwing everything else into the bag, I walked into the hall. Sure enough, there he was, leaning against the wall.

"Ready, Crossbow?" I muttered, but shifted slightly when I saw that he was looking at me. His blue eyes were sizing me up, and it was hot as hell.

"Yup." He gave me a look, and I gently bit my lip.

"Hey, can we talk first?" I leaned against the wall, looking him over.

"What's up, Red?"

I tried to figure out what to say, what to do. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to say, and I didn't really know why I brought it up in the first place. "What did you mean at Lucy's grave?"

He gave me a looked and shrugged. "What part?"

"When you said that I sure wasn't leaving now." I thought back to the day. He was about to kiss me, and I told him I didn't want to leave, and he said I wasn't now.

Shaking his head slightly, he gave me a weak smile. Not a smirk, but not a full blown grin either. It looked easy, and it suited him well. "What do you think it means?"

Wrapping my arms around myself, I nibbled on my bottom lip. "I'm hoping it doesn't mean more than I think it does." I wish he just outright said it, because this whole back and forth was getting a little confusing.

"Probably doesn't." He pointed his thumb behind him. "Come on, Red. We should get going."

Nodding, I started to walk in the direction he pointed. I relaxed when I felt his warm hand on the small of my back, guiding me towards the kitchen.

Walking in, I saw that everyone was eating eggs, and passing around aspirin. I took it from the black woman, who was giving the Asian boy a massage. He was clearly hung over, and bad. I popped two pills into my mouth, and handed the bottle to Daryl. I wasn't hung over, but my leg hurt slightly. Not enough for the drugs I had been taking, but just enough that this should make it better.

He gratefully took the bottle, put two pills in his mouth, and swallowed. I perched myself on the counter again, and scanned the room, looking for the little girl. I smiled slightly when I saw her sitting next to the little boy and her mom, eating a large helping of eggs.

Daryl leaned next to me, and seemed to follow my eyes. "Ya okay?"

Not taking my eyes off the little blonde, I nodded. "Yeah…just remembering Lucy."

Daryl patted my thigh gently, and it soothed me. Looking at him, I could see that he was lost in thought. Thinking about people he lost? "Are you okay?" I kept my voice low. A few people were already looking at us, and I didn't want to bring anymore attention to us. Many people weren't…fans of Daryl. Even fewer were fans of me.

"Yeah, just thinkin'." When his eyes locked with mine, he sighed. "I lost my brother."

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Sorry. Did he…turn?"

He shook his head quickly, and let out a huff of air. "No, he was handcuffed to the roof of a buildin' in Atlanta. When I went back to get 'im, he wasn't there. Just his hand."

My hand tightened on his shoulder, and he gave me a look. Maybe that's why he's so gruff. Either that, or there was something else, but no one gets to be that tough and withdrawn from others without a reason.

"What happened to you?" We both looked over at the voice. Scowl had walked in, three angry scratches on his neck and jaw.

"Must've done it in my sleep." Oh, that was total bull. I just hoped whoever did it to him had a reason.

"I have something to say." A soft voice peeped up, and I looked to my left. Mother one had sat up taller, pulling the little girl closer to her. The little one met my gaze and smiled slightly. I returned it immediately.

"Yes, Carol?" Officer asked, and I quickly pushed the voice out of my head. She's mother one, not anyone else.

"I think we should talk about letting the girl into our group." The mother looked at me, but I couldn't move. Wait, what?

"I don't think this is the time, nor the place." Scowl muttered, but at this point everyone was broken up in their own conversations. Some agreed with the mother, while others with Scowl. I felt Daryl tense next to me, and I gently bumped his shoulder, trying to let him know to calm down without having to say it.

"No, she saved my little girl. She has done more for this group that I have. She needs to be here." She sat up taller, and gave me a look. Pride, thanks, what?

"This is not the time Carol." Scowl said again, sitting up taller.

"She saved me!" The little girl peeped up, and looked at me. "You saw her." She whispered to Scowl, to which he nodded.

"Fine." He looked at me and sighed. "Everyone who's in favor of the girl joining the group, raise your hand." The little girl shot her hand right into the air, followed by her mother, and the little boy. The old man in the Hawaiian shirt followed suit, then the black woman. Looking over, I saw that the second mother joined the vote, and so did Daryl. He winked at me, and I smiled slightly. When I looked back at the group, I saw that the black man, remaining blonde sister, and finally the Officer. Everyone had their hands up, except for Scowl. I couldn't fight the full blown smile that stretched across my face.

"Alright, it's settled. She's part of our group." Officer muttered, just as Doc walked in.

"Thanks." I whispered, and felt Daryl bump me with his shoulder. Looking over, he had a smile. He gave me a nod, and I let out a slow breath. Maybe I could belong somewhere. Maybe I could protect the little girl, and feel protected by Daryl. I could do this. Maybe there was a way for me to be happy.

The clock was ticking down, and everyone was screaming. The little girl and mother one were crying in the corner, Daryl and a few other men were trying to hack down the door.

Doc was muttering about something to the others, but I wasn't going to do it. We needed to get out. I finally found a way to be happy, and I wasn't going to let this guy end it all.

Walking up to him, I looked him square in the eyes. "Give us a chance. You keep saying it will be better, that the pain will end, then let us have a choice. I just got past the point where I don't want to die. Let us have the choice to end it all, or to keep fighting."

He looked at me, and shook his head. "Have you lost anyone to this?"

"Yes. I lost all of my family. I had to put down my sister a few days back."

"Don't you want to be with them?" His voice was soft, as if I was a baby.

"No. Because I don't know where I'll end up. If there is a heaven or a hell, I'm starting to think I belong in hell, while I know they don't. Just let me keep fighting."

He looked at me, then stood. I was afraid that he would just leave, but he didn't. He moved over to the same keypad he used to lock us in. Waving the card in front of it, he clicked several buttons, then the doors flew open.

"Let's get out of here!" Someone yelled, and I gave Doc a small nod before I turned and started to run. I guided, okay more like pushed, mom one and the little girl up the ramp. I felt Daryl put his hand on the small of my back, pushing me farther. It was a good thing that my leg was nearly completely healed.

We ran to our rooms, and I threw my bag over my shoulder, shoved my pistol into my waistband, and kept my knife in my hand as I ran and met up with Daryl. We got to the main entrance when we realized that the doors hadn't opened up here.

Daryl started to beat the windows with an axe, and someone started to beat it with a chair. Then mother one walked over and gave Officer a grenade. I knew I liked her for something.

"Get down!" Officer order, and I was led to the ground by Daryl. There was an explosion, and my ears ran. Forcing myself to my feet, Daryl dragged me to his pickup truck. We both threw ourselves into the cab, and Daryl used his body to protect me.

There was a loud explosion, and then silence.

Daryl pulled me onto the seat, and we looked at what used to be the CDC. Now just a bunch of rubble. The old man and remaining blonde stumbled their way to the RV. I guess they were later getting out, but they were alive.

Turning, I locked gazes with Daryl's ice blue eyes. Suddenly, without hesitation, I threw myself into his arms, and I tightly wrapped my arms around his neck, in utter shock.

He ran his hand up and down my back, soothing me. "It's al'ight, Little Red." He whispered, and I shook my head.

"Becca."

He pulled back, kept his arms on my upper forearms, and inspected me. "What?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I let out a slow breath, gathering myself. "My name is Becca.

_There it is! Everyone had been asking what the mystery's girl name is, so…DUN DUN DUNNNN! Her name is Becca! I wanted to wait for a certain moment for her name to be revealed. Honestly, I wasn't going to do it for like….four more chapters, maybe more. But after everyone's curiosity, I decided now was as good time as any. AND this means that when I was going to say her name, something else surprising can happen. So keep an eye out! Love you all, and PLEASE review!_

_Oh, and P.S! I wanted to do this new thing. Most chapters from here on out I will ask a question. Please review your answer, and then put a name in the review. I will pick the one which I want to put into the story, and then put it in using the name. So if you win and you put the name Steve, Steve will have some part of the story, even if it's just the name. Thanks guys!_

_First question! _

_What would be in your zombie apocalypse emergency bag?_


	6. Chapter 6

With one arm on the steering wheel, Daryl expertly followed the caravan. We didn't have anywhere else to go, so as of now, we were just driving. I did notice that his eyes kept landing on me.

"What?" I muttered, letting out a yawn. It was about two in the afternoon, but after the CDC blew up, I was completely worn out.

"Becca, huh?" After I told him my name, I almost regretted it. He just smirked, turned on the truck, and drove. We hadn't talked since then.

"Yup." I started to bite on my nails, a nervous habit I had kicked…until now.

"I like it." He peeked at me, and I just shook my head.

"Don't tell no one. Like I told you before, I'm not one for sharing names." I shrugged. "Too personal."

"Then why did ya tell me?"

I just gave him a look. "Just kinda slipped out. In the moment and all."

"What ya mean?"

Biting on my bottom lip, I sighed. "Okay, listen and listen good, 'cause there's no way I'm saying it again." At this, I saw his lip twitch into a smile, but he quickly wiped it away, then nodded.

"Lucy was the only person I had left in my life. We had others that made it with us, but they only made it a few days after the attack at my aunt's house in Cumming, Georgia. That was a few months back. I swore that I wouldn't get attached to someone, because I thought that everyone would just die off in the end."

"I ain't ganna die.' He muttered, but I just put my hand up.

"Let me finish. After Lucy died, I decided that I'm not going to care for anyone else. It'd be too hard to see another person I care for die, or turn into a Walker." I shuddered slightly, but pushed the image out of my head. "I'm not going through that again."

"But…" He prompted, and I smiled. He knew that I had more to say.

"But…Sometimes ya just can't control how you feel." I glanced at him, and he nodded. "I'm still trying to get everything back into check. I'm not going to be falling head over heals for anyone, but…It'd be nice to know that someone out there cared if I died or not.'

"Yer not gonna die." He slung his arm over my shoulder and shook me slightly. "I won't let ya."

I smiled and nodded. "Good. Same for you…Crossbow."

He gave me a look and shook his head. "So I'm still Crossbow?"

"Hell ya. Just 'cause you know my name, doesn't mean I'm about to use yours….or learn anyone's for that matter."

"Fine…Becca." I rolled my eyes, and he just smirked. There were other reasons why I didn't tell my name, reasons I didn't want to even think about at the moment.

"Just stick to Little Red."

He gave me a look and chuckled. "As long as ya don't piss me off."

Leaning my head back onto his arm, I looked at the ceiling of the car. "Since we're already on all of this personal crap…tell me about you."

"No." His answer was quick, but it seemed to just be a wall, like what I built up.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I let out a huff. "Fine, but I'll find out sooner or later." I paused for a second. "Sooner."

"Later." Before I could argue further, the RV started to slow in front of us, and we all pulled over.

He put the car into park and got out. I slid out of the car and followed closely behind him.

"Alright everyone. The RV just broke down." There were a few worried mutters, while Officer just put up his hand to quiet them down. "Dale's going to try to fix it up. In the meantime, why don't the rest of y'all try to find something in these cars?" He gestured towards the graveyard of cars that blocked the road.

Everyone nodded and broke up into their little groups. The old man and Asian boy moved towards the front of the RV to try to get it up and working again. The rest started to open all of the trunks of the cars, sifting through for anything that could be useful.

I moved over to a black mini van, and pulled open the trunk. Checking around to make sure it was safe, I realized that some people were struggling with the contents of the cars. Some pulled out baby bags, and just stared. Pulling my gaze away, I noticed that the old man was no on top of the RV, keeping watch.

In the trunk of the car, I found several suitcases of clothes, two packs of water bottles, a few cans of food, and a Swiss army knife. Pocketing the knife, I started to pull everything out of the trunk.

After I had all of the useful items out of the trunk, I turned, trying to find Daryl to help me carry them to one of our cars. I cursed to myself for not noticing the silence before.

Everyone was hiding. I saw some shaking under cars, and I can just see the old man's hat on top of the RV. Looking towards the horizon, I saw tons of Walkers. A whole herd.

Without thinking, I threw myself into the trunk of the car, and pulled down the door. If I had any luck, the Walkers would pass by without noticing me.

The moaning was soft through the walls of the mini van. None noticed me, and they passed almost as quickly as they had appeared.

I waited probably three minutes after the last Walker passed my hiding spot before I sat up, checking up and down the road. Making sure there weren't any other Walkers, I pushed on the door. Of course, there wasn't a handle on the inside.

Sighing, I jumped over the back seat, and reached for the handle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a booster seat. Not a car seat for a toddler, but a booster seat, for a child around seven or eight. Lucy's age.

I couldn't catch my breath, and threw myself out of the car. Right into Daryl.

"Whoa, y'all al'ight, Little Red?" I noticed that he smelled of the dead, and I wondered what he had to do to survive the herd that just passed.

"Yup, fine." I took a breath, and felt myself calm down. "I found some stuff in that car. Help me carry it?"

He nodded, and I led him towards the back of the car. I threw the bags full of clothes onto my back, and pulled the cans into my arms while Daryl picked up some cans and the two packs of water.

Making our way towards Daryl's pick up, we threw everything into the bed and went over to the RV. The black man was being tended to by the old man, and mom one was crying.

My heart stopped and I grabbed Daryl's arm, pulling him to a stop. "Where is the little girl?"

He gave me a look, then scanned the group. "Dunno."

Officer came out of the woods a minute later, panting and looking frantic. "Daryl!"

Daryl pulled his arm out of my grasp and took a few steps closer to the man. "Yeah?"

"I need your help tracking Sophia. She ran off after I distracted some Walkers." I walked closer to the two, listening.

"Sure." Daryl nodded, and moved over towards the car, picking up his crossbow.

"What do you mean she ran off?" I was starting to twitch I was so worked up.

"She was hiding in the creek, and then just ran off." He looked over at mother one, who was staring at the woods, crying.

Daryl came up next to me and nodded. "Let's go."

"I'm coming too." I pulled my knife out of the holster on my leg and stood up taller.

"No, yer not. Yer gonna stay 'ere wit everyone else." Daryl muttered, glaring at me.

"The hell I am! That little girl is out there, and I'm gonna help you find her." I threw my leg over the guardrail and started towards the forest. "End of discussion."

A few hours later we walked up towards the guardrail, drenched in sweat, and with hopes crushed.

"You didn't find her?" Carol cried out, moving to her feet. Lori held her, and I just kept my head low, not wanting to see her pain.

"Trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light." Daryl said beside me, but I saw his shoulders slumped. He wanted to find the girl as much as I did.

"She's twelve! We can't just leave her out there alone at night." The poor woman.

"We'd just be tripping over ourselves, loosing more men."

I walked over to Daryl's pickup truck and pulled a water bottle from the bed, twisting off the top and drinking it. I didn't want to think about the girl, and I didn't want to think about Lucy. All I wanted was for my original plan of not having feeling's towards anyone to work, but it clearly didn't.

"Y'all al'ight?" Daryl took a water bottle, drank half of it, and looked me over. "Y'a look like yer gonna be sick."

Shrugging, I finished off my water, throwing the empty one in the bed. "Just can't believe that damn Officer let her run off like that."

"He did what he had to."

"Still feel bad for that little girl." I shrugged and slid into the cab of the truck.

He walked over to my door and tossed a blanket and flattened pillow at me. "Don't get yerself killed."

"Where are you gonna be?" I asked, putting the pillow on the other side of the cab.

"RV." He shouldered his crossbow, then walked off towards the RV.

Closing the door, I locked it, laid down, and pulled the blanket up to my chin. Eyes closed, I tried to just let my mind go blank, and fall into sleep. It didn't work. Lucy, the little girl, and my family filled my mind. The nightmare that followed was what to be expected.

"_Our Father in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen." We all prayed quietly, as we have done every Sunday of my life._

"_Very good." My father smiled at me, closing his bible. I closed mine, and I heard the rest of my family follow suit._

"_How Uncle Frank?" Lucy asked, gripping her pink bible in her hands, nervously biting on her bottom lip._

"_He is okay. I think he has the flu. Do you want to pray for him?" My father asked, and when she nodded, he held out his hands. _

_I slipped my hand into his, while Lucy's small hand slid into my other. The rest of my family did the same, creating a prayer circle. I looked at all of them and smiled to myself. Religion was the one thing that always brought us together. My mother was on the other side of my father, her fiery red hair pulled into a bun on top of her head. All of us shared that trait with her._

_Next to her sat my Aunt Lily, who was my father's sister. She looked worried, which was understandable. Her husband, Frank, has been sick for the past few days, with a really bad fever, and seemed really weak._

_To her left were my two brothers, the one my twin brother Brian, and my younger brother Henry, who is five years older that Lucy. They both smiled at me before bowing their heads._

"_Lord, please be with Frank in his time of need. Please heal him so that he can come back to us. Cure him of his sickness. Lower his fever and give him back the strength he once possessed. In your name we pray, Amen."_

"_Thank you." Aunt Lily whispered before she stood, bible pressed to her chest, and walked away, surely to go check on Uncle Frank._

"_Who's ready for breakfast?" My mother asked, trying to add some cheer to the gloomy moment._

"_I do!" Lucy jumped to her feet, smiling, and ran to hold her hand. Henry followed suit, while the rest of us stood._

"_Dad?" I asked, while the three of us started to put away all of the folding chairs._

"_Yes, Becca?" He asked after putting away his chair and my mothers._

"_Is all that they are saying on the news true?" Last night I watched the news, and I saw that people were saying that there was a deadly flu like disease spreading across the United States. That was all they were allowed to say, that it was some sort of flue._

"_Sweetheart, it is probably just something blown out of proportion. Do you remember the panic of the H1N1 outbreak? It wasn't as bad as everyone was building it up to be, was it?"_

_I shook my head and sighed. "I guess not." _

_He walked over and placed a kiss on my forehead, then moved into the kitchen, leaving just me and Brian._

"_I think it's true." He said, putting the final chair against the wall._

"_Really?" I ran my finger over the indented words on the cover of my bible. _

"_Why else are all the school's closed? They didn't close our school for the swine flu epidemic." He shook his head and looked at me, eyes sparkling with anger. "This isn't just going to go away._

_I shook my head, trying to think of some sort of rebuttal. "God wouldn't do that. He wouldn't let that many people die ju-" There was a scream that cut me off before I could continue with my rant._

"_Help!" The scream came from upstairs. I couldn't tell who it was coming from. It was a woman's voice, so surely it was my Aunt Lily. But I had never heard her scream with that much fear._

_Brian stepped in front of me, while our father sprinted up the stairs. I tried to follow, but Brian didn't let me. He looked me over and pushed me towards the kitchen. "Grab knives, big ones!" He ordered everyone. _

_He ran over to the woodblock we use to house our chef knives, and pulled out the three large ones we have. He kept one to himself, handed one to me, and the final one to my mother. "Henry, Lucy, stay behind us."_

_I didn't know what was going on, but Brian seemed to have everything planned out. "What's going on?"_

"_My friend told me about this. This isn't some sort of flu. People are turning into zombies. Get to the garage, all of you. The SUV is filled with everything. Clothes, food, water. Grab anything that you think could be a weapon, and get into the car." He pushed us towards the door._

"_You knew what was going on?" I yelled at him, fear filling me. _

"_I didn't think it actually was going to happen!" Then, we heard another scream, then our father appeared, covered in blood and holding onto his side._

"_Where are Uncle Frank and Aunt Lily?" I yelled while still being forced towards the garage._

_He looked at my brother and let out a breath. "You were right. It's happening." He looked down at the pistol in his hands, which I didn't even know he owned. "Frank turned. He killed Lily." He closed his eyes, but Brian shook his head._

"_We need to get going!" He yelled, and finally everyone seemed to pick up on the magnitude of the situation. We made it to the car, and Henry and Lucy were thrown into the SUV, while my mother followed them in. She was a woman that was soft and caring, and right now she was too petrified to do anything but cry and hold her kids._

_Knife still in hand, I looked at Brian and my father. "What do we do?"_

"_Grab everything that could be a weapon!" Brian yelled while pulling a rake off the wall and throwing it into the trunk of the car._

_I grabbed an axe and put it next to the rake. "What happened to Uncle Frank?"_

_Putting the gun into the trunk, my father gave me a look, then tossed a shovel into the trunk. "He must have gotten scratched when he was out hunting. "Scratched?"_

"_This is not the time, Becca!" Brian yelled at me, tossing something else into the trunk that I couldn't tell what it was._

_Turning, I threw open a box that was on the wall. Inside was all of my Uncle Frank's hunting gear. I took two rifles off the wall and put it in the trunk, then all the ammo I could gather. As a last thought, I handed my kitchen knife to my dad and picked up the hunting knife with leg holster. _

"_Get going!" My father yelled, while looking pasted me. I followed his gaze and saw two figures limping towards us._

"_Is that the Smiths?" I whispered. They had been my aunt's neighbors for years, and pretty much family to us._

"_Don't look." Brian muttered, while putting me into the passenger seat. He shut the door and locked it behind me. "Dad, come on." He said, pulling on our father's arm._

"_No, I can't." He lifted his shirt, and showed a bite mark. "I'm going to turn."_

_My cries started to fall in tune with the rest of my family. We couldn't just leave him! Who knows what could happen?_

"_Dad…no…" Brian muttered, but when I looked behind the car, I saw the Smith's were getting closer, and I heard gurgling noises, and moans. Oh god, I was going to be sick. _

"_Brian, go! Keep them save!" He pulled Brian into a rough hug, then pushed him towards the car. After only a second of hesitating, he got into the car, turned it on, and reversed quickly, hitting Mrs. Smith and crushing her under the car._

_He started to drive down the road, away from the house. I saw Mr. Smith grabbing at my father, to which he shoved the knife into his skull. He fell to the ground, and then I could no longer see my father._

_Looking down at my hands, I knew I had a choice. I could cry in the back like my mother, and become a liability. Or I could be like Brian. Wipe away my tears, and get ready to fight._

_Strapping the knife onto my leg, I looked at the bible I still clutched in my hands. Rolling down the window, I threw it out, watching as it bounced on the pavement. "Lies." I whispered, rolled up the window, and looked forward. I would have to be strong, have to keep everyone safe. From now on, I wasn't going to be the preachers daughter. Now, I'm a fighter._

**Like it? Hate it? Let me know! I have an idea of what happened to Becca to move her to this point. What happened to leave just her and Lucy. This was the first step, and it also showed how she lost all hope in God. Up until the memory I just wrote, she was a preachers daughter, and spent every day talking about God and learning about him and praying. Now she lost all hope. Tell me what you think!**

**Question of the day:**

**You are a member of the group. Where would you go? (Farm, gated community, hospital…ect.) Why?**


	7. Chapter 7

Waking up, it took me a moment to gather my surrounds. The steering wheel and pedals on the ground reminded me that I was in a car. The woodsy smell was Daryl's.

Groaning, I sat up and tilted my neck, trying to get the stiff feeling out of it. Looking out the window, I saw that everyone was mulling around the cars, some searching, while others were talking in small groups.

I quickly fixed my hair in the rear view mirror, pulling it into a high pony, then slid out of the car.

"Hungry?" The old man asked, messing around with several cans that must have been found in cars. I shook my head, and turned, trying to find the redneck.

"Here." The Asian called, then tossed me a water bottle. I grabbed it and gave him a small nod. He seemed nice enough.

Taking a sip of water, I finally spotted Daryl. He was making his way out of the RV, and moved over to the truck. I watched as he looked into the cab, noticed I wasn't there, and spun around quickly.

Moving over to him, I tilted my water in the air as a sort of wave. "Hey. He seemed to relax slightly, and nodded in return. "Didn't ya sleep at all?" He asked as I moved closer.

Squinting at him, I tilted my head in question. "Yeah…"

"Ya look like ya got black eyes." He shrugged, and I let out a breath. Moving over to the mirror, I looked at myself. He was right. The bags under my eyes were so black, it looked like I hadn't gotten sleep in days.

Turning back to him, I leaned against the car. "I slept, just not well." He gave me a look, then started to bite on his thumb nail. Nervous tick maybe?

"Nightmare?"

I nodded, then turned towards the woods. "Alright, let's find this girl." I pushed off the car and checked my weapons. Knife still on thigh, and gun in waistband. I realized that it was really dumb that I had fallen asleep with both of them in place, but I hadn't given it a second thought when I fell asleep. Whoops.

He nodded and followed me as we made our way towards a small group. "Where are we gonna start?"

Officer looked me over, giving a slight nod of approval. He pulled out a map and spread it across the hood of a car. "Here." He pointed in the middle of the woods. "We left off about here yesterday. Daryl, you lead us back there, and we'll just follow your lead."

Daryl nodded, and I turned and looked around. Both mother one and two were gathering their own gear. "Should they really be coming?" I muttered, and that earned me a response from Scowl.

"What, do you think we aren't gonna like what we find?"

I stepped forward, my nose nearly touching his. "No, I just don't want to have to watch my back and theirs." I clenched my teeth and my fists. "We're gonna find that little girl. And if you think otherwise, you're a dumb ass and should stay here."

Officer stepped between us, and Daryl pulled me back by my arm. "Calm down." He muttered, and I just shook off his hand.

"Can we go? We're wasting daylight."

Officer nodded, and we were off. Daryl took the lead, followed by Officer and Scowl. Blondie was after him, the Asian behind her, then mother one and two. I took up the rear, simply because I was the only one willing and able to.

As we walked, I kept one ear out for Walkers, and one out for the little girl. The whole time, all I kept thinking about was what she looked like, so that if I even saw a glimpse of her, I could go and save her. I had failed Lucy, and all I wanted to do was to find this little girl.

"What is that?" Someone asked, utterly confused.

"Church bells." I hissed, and took off in the direction of the noise. I had been raised by this noise. I knew what it was.

Everyone followed me, and I maneuvered in between trees, clearing a path. As the bells got louder, I ran faster. Was it the little girl ringing the bells to get our attention? Was she letting us know that she was at a church, a place most people find safe?

As the church came into view, my lip twitched slightly. Yes!

"I don't see any bells." Someone behind me muttered, and I slowed slightly. They were right…there weren't.

I could hear that most people behind me were stopping, but I kept running. Turning the side of the church, I saw a wire, and a little brown box towards the roof.

Daryl walked up and ripped the wires that led to the box, cutting off the bells.

"It was probably set to go off at this time." Someone muttered.

Everyone trickled into the church, and I heard a few thumps, which I just assumed was a few Walkers being put down.

I paced, let out a growl, and punched the side of the church, and sunk down to the ground, running my hands through my hair. "Damn it!" I yelled, covering my face.

"We'll still find 'er." Daryl muttered, but I just shook my head.

"I was so sure she would be here…" Taking a few breaths, I pulled myself together. Getting to my feet, I brushed off my butt and stood up taller. "I'm going to check the perimeter."

He gave me a look and nodded. "Stay close."

I walked off, checking everywhere I could think of that she might be. I came up empty.

Feeling defeated, I went back to the church. When I didn't see anyone on the outside, I walked towards the door. Mom one was just finishing up her prayer, and mom two was leading her outside. I didn't see anyone else, so I guessed that they were on the other side of the church.

The church brought back so many memories of my childhood. I spent more time in church listening to my father than I spent hanging with friends, or at a park, or even at school. Moving towards the front, I ran my hand over the pews on the way up towards the pulpit.

Making my way up to the cross, I looked at the figure of Jesus. Looking around one last time to make sure I was alone, I turned and looked him over. "So, looks like I'm back here again. Of course, my life starts in church, ends in church." I laughed humorlessly, resting my hands on the railing in front of the wooden cross.

I just looked at the figure, trying to find a way to express all of my anger. For some reason, I got choked up. "How could you do this to us? We were good. We went to church, we learned about God, we did everything right. We repented our sins. I was baptized. My fathers was a preacher for God's sake!" I slammed my hand onto the railing and hung my head. "And you let him die. You let them all die." Lifting my head, I glared at the figure, my vision blurred with tears. "You let us down. You led us into hell, and now you just leave us.

"They're all dead. You didn't save us, you just let it happen." Standing up straight, I sniffled and wiped at my eyes, stopping any tears before they fell. "Everything I learned about you was a lie."

Shaking my head, I turned around. Of course, there was Daryl in the doorway. My shadow.

"What do you want, Crossbow?"

"Yer a preacher's daughter?"

Walking past him, I didn't pause as I brushed past him through the door jam. "I used to be."

Sitting on the guardrail, I began to twirl hair between my fingers. I had said that my goal was to keep the kids safe. Yes, especially the girl, but also the boy. Kids in the new world were going to have such a hard time, but we needed them.

Now the girls lost, and the little boys shot. Shot! Just when I thought Walkers were all we had to fear, turns out people are just as bad. Hell, we're worse!

"Come get some food, Red." Lifting my head, I looked at the old man, fighting back a smile.

"Red?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Gotta have something to call you." He smiled brightly at me, and tilted his head towards the RV. I got up and walked over.

"Thanks." I muttered, taking a can that he offered to me. Looking in, I saw that it was what looked like canned chicken. Usually something I would opt out of eating, but right now, it smelled like heaven.

Giving him a look, he nodded. "Eat up! We've got plenty." Smiling, I took off the lid, folded it, and used it as a spoon to shovel the food in my mouth.

Leaning against the RV, I looked at him. "So…" I swallowed another scoop of chicken. "What's up with him?" I tilted my head towards the black man.

"I think he's got blood poisoning. Good thing the Dixon's had some antibiotics with them." He shrugged and looked him over. "He's okay for now, but we'll need to get him help."

"Wait…Dixon's?" I hadn't heard that name yet.

"Yeah…Daryl and Merle." He gave me a look.

"Who the hell is Merle?" I finished off my chicken and put the can on the ground, under the RV to make sure no one tripped on it or anything.

"Daryl's brother. He got locked on the roof in Atlanta. They were looking for him when they found you."

I nodded, and scanned camp, trying to find him. "Did he die?"

"We don't know. All they found was his hand."

Looking at him, I shuddered slightly. Just a hand? That was terrible.

"Poor Crossbow…" I sighed, and spotted him. He was sitting in the kitchen of the RV, cleaning his arrows. "I'll be right back."

Walking into the RV, I looked at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell ya what?" He peeked at me, then turned his attention back to the arrows.

"About your brother."

"None of yer damn business."

"You know about my sister." Seemed fair. An eye for an eye.

"No, I saw ya put 'er down."

I don't know why, but I got mad. This was the only person I talked to in camp, and he didn't tell me shit. "Why can't you just tell me what the hell happened? Or just something about you!" I growled out.

"'Cause you don't need to know." He looked at me, and I was done.

"Fine." I huffed, turned on my heels, and stormed out. "I'll be in the truck." I called out, either to Daryl, or to the old man.

Getting to the truck, I slammed the door, put my gun and knife on the dashboard of the car, and laid down. Pulling the blanket up to my chin, I slammed my eyes close and waited for sleep to take me.

"_Becca?"_

_We have been stuck in the SUV for the past four hours. Brian was driving randomly, and the others in the back had stopped crying. "Yeah?"_

"_Sorry I didn't tell you."_

_I just nodded and sighed. After a minute or two of silence, I figured out what I wanted to say. "I know you didn't want to freak them out." I jerked my thumb towards the back. "But why didn't you tell me? I can handle it." My shoulders slump. "I could at least have prepared for this a little."_

"_I know." He kept his gaze on the road ahead. After a few more miles, all the cars in front of us started to slow, to a stop. "Shit."_

_My eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Brian! You know better than to curse."_

_He gave me a look and put the car in park. "It's a little past the time to be worrying about that stuff." He turned the car off and left the keys in the ignition. "We should see what's going on."_

_Getting out of the car, I looked back at the people in the back. "Stay here."_

"_You're leaving us?" My mother whimpered out. _

"_Your fine. Just keep the car locked." I checked the knife on my leg one last time before following Brian past all of the cars._

_It seemed like many of the other travelers had the same idea. We passed many people. Mothers with their babies, teens with their girlfriends or boyfriends, and fathers going alone. I stayed close to Brian._

"_Get back in your cars!" Men dressed in uniforms yelled, waving guns at us. I stopped, and moved into Brian's side. _

"_We should go back." I whispered, as many of the other travelers ran to their cars. But Brian held his spot._

"_Where should we go?" He called out over the worried cries of others._

"_Back in your cars!" A man with pistol drawn yelled._

"_No, where do we drive to."_

"_You will be notified once everyone are in their cars."_

_Then, the shots started to ring out. Everyone screamed, and Brian forced me to the ground. "What is going on?"_

"_I don't know! It sounds like they're shooting at some thing." The shooting slowed, but the screaming filled its place. Brian moved to his knees, peeking over the cars to see what was going. "Oh God." He muttered, and started to force me to my feet. "Run!"_

_Looking back, I saw them. Dozens of creatures were limping their way towards us. They looked like the Smith's had. Some were missing limbs, some half of their faces, others had skin the color of stone. As I watched, they started to feast on the officers, being hit by bullets without flinching._

"_I'm gonna be sick." I groaned out, but Brian forced me forward._

"_Just run!"_

_I stumbled, trying to run back to the SUV, but there were too many cars, too many people fleeing as we were. We slowed to a near stop._

_The moaning grew, and my heart stopped. Brian's hand on my back dropped, and I knew something was wrong._

_Turning around, I saw that those…things had grabbed him. He was punching them, trying to fend them off. One bit into his leg, and another his hand. He kept fighting, trying to break free from their grasps._

"_No!" I fumbled with my knife, trying to pull it out of its holster to help him._

_He looked at me, blood dripping from his mouth, eyes full of fear. "Save…them…" Then he fell to the ground, and the creatures swarmed him. He let out a scream, and I turned and ran towards the SUV._

_Getting to the car, I threw myself behind the wheel and turned on the car. I could do this. I could do this._

"_Where is Brian?" My mother wailed, and I realized that I'm now the only one able to keep us safe._

_Throwing the car into reverse, I locked the doors and started to back up, thankful that there were so few people behind us. "Keep the kids down."_

"_Where is my son?" She yelled, but she did help the kids onto the ground of the car. They were clutching each other, Lucy with a doll in her arms. _

"_Later." I growled through clenched teeth, struggling to not hit any of the other cars._

"_Rebecca!" She screamed, and I slammed on the brakes and glared at her._

"_Those freaks ate him! Okay? He's dead and he told me to save you! Now stop it and suck it up, we need to get out of here!" I yelled, then looked forward, threw the car into drive, and pulled a u turn. Flooring it, I started to drive, making each turn we passed, and tried to stay off the main roads._

_There was silence, and I bit the inside of my cheek. I've never yelled at my mother before. I've never actually raised my voice at anyone, but never my parents. Guess I was a changed woman. Hell, I just watched my brother being eaten by what I could only explain as creatures from hell. There was no turning back._

**A/N: Okay, kind of short, but I still liked it. Trying to find out where this story is going. It just kind of lives on it's own, and I just follow it and jot down notes. I know the next two big things that are going to happen, so keep an eye out for the next few chapters!**

**Question of the day:**

**You were bit. What would your death note say? (Kind of dark, but there is a reason for it, I promise!)**


	8. Chapter 8

A hand clamped over my mouth, and my eyes flew open, taking a sharp breath. My hands flew up in an attempt to protect myself.

"Sh." My eyes adjusted to the dark, and my eyes took in the bright blue ones over me. I gripped his hand in mine and pulled it off of my mouth, sitting up.

"What was that for?" I hissed out, wiping the sweat from my brow.

"Ya was screamin'. Callin' e'ery Walker near 'ere." He grumbled, backing out of the cab of the car.

"Didn't mean to." I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the slight pink jump to my cheeks.

He looked me up and down. "Nightmare?"

I just nodded and rubbed my eyes. "What are you doing up so late?" It was pitch black.

"Carol's cryin' all night. Gonna go look fer 'er girl again." He shrugged and looked behind him. "Andrea is comin' wit me."

I moved out of cab and stretched. "Carol is the little girls mom, and Andrea is…blondie?" I asked, catching eyes with the glaring blonde.

"Yeah."

"I'll come with. Beats going back to bed." I grabbed my knife and pistol, putting them in their spots, then turning to look at Daryl.

"What, am I some sort of fuckin' babysitter now?" He grumbled, but led the way towards the woods none the less. More people, more eyes watching his back.

"Got bit, fever hit, world gone to shit, might as well quit." Daryl read the note next to the Walker, who was thrashing and trying to eat his flesh.

"Moron didn't shoot himself in the head?" I asked, looking him over. His legs had lost all the flesh, surely eaten off by other Walkers.

"Oh God…" Blondie muttered, doubled over. Damn girl was gonna loose her lunch!

"Guess not." Daryl muttered, moving away from the figure.

"Coward." I whispered, to which he looked at me. "Only a coward takes the easy way out." I looked over at the still close to hurling Blondie. "A real person fights to the end."

"Not in the mood, Red." She muttered, and I heard Daryl chuckle. Apparently everyone had taken a liking to that nickname, and Daryl seemed pleased.

"Let's get back to camp before Blondie looses her dinner." I muttered, but when I walked past her, she stood up and wiped her mouth. In the dark, I couldn't tell whether she hurled or not.

"Wait! We can't just leave him like this!" She whispered, gesturing towards the Walker.

"He ain't hurtin' no one." Daryl shrugged, giving me a look which I returned. Is this girl really trying to play savior?

"Come on, just shoot him." She begged, and I looked up at the Walker. He was too high up for Daryl to retrieve afterwards.

"Do you want to live?" I asked randomly. It just hit me. This guy opted out, and Blondie tried to earlier at the CDC. I'd rather figure out who I should stick my neck out to save, and who I should let finish themselves off, if that is what they wanted.

"An answer for an arrow." She whispered, to which I looked at Daryl. He shrugged, and Blondie went off on some sort of rant, to which I couldn't figure out her answer. After all the college educated crap, it seemed to come out as a maybe.

It was good enough for Daryl, because he shot the Walker in the head, right between the eyes. "Waste of an arrow." He muttered, then made his way back towards camp.

I followed, with Blondie close on my heels. Turning, I looked at her. "So, I saw you arguing with the old man over a gun." She glared at me, but I just shook it off. "You know how to shoot?"

She looked at me carefully. "No." She looked at my waistband and huffed out an angry breath of air. "Why the hell don't you have to give yours up?"

I trudged up the hill after Daryl, struggling to keep up with the hunter, who was obviously more adjusted to this.

"Because I know how to shoot." I let out a slow breath, trying to calm myself. "And…I guess…I could teach ya." I mumbled the last part. I knew I had to reach out towards the group more than just Daryl. And honestly, me and Blondie were pretty much two peas in a pod, which is why we seemed to hate each other's guts so much.

I saw Daryl tilt his head towards us slightly, but his gate never faltered. He might be a stealthy hunter, but he was a poor eavesdropper.

"Really?" The shock was obvious in her voice.

Shrugging, I looked at her. "Why not? We all have to learn sooner or later in this new hell hole. Might as well help others learn the trade." After a slight pause, and bumped her with my shoulder. "And ya don't seem like _that _much of a bitch." My lip curled up in a weak smile to show the sarcasm.

"Yeah, no one compares to you." She shot back, her smile matching mine.

"Damn, created two monsters." Daryl muttered in front of us as we made it to the guardrail of camp. We all stepped over the rail, and walked towards the RV.

Blondie smirked at me as we got closer. "Maybe Dale will let me get my gun back now."

Following her gaze, I saw that she was looking at the old man, who was still perched on his usual spot on top of the RV. "Maybe."

She moved up to the roof to talk with him, while I nibbled on my lip, looking over at the truck.

"Ya really gonna teach 'er ta shoot?" Daryl muttered, looking me over.

Shrugging, I nodded and looked over at him. "If we ever get the chance." I slid down to the ground, shifting my gaze over to the forest. "I can't believe that little girl is still out there."

"We'll find 'er."

"I know…Just wish we didn't have to in the first place."

"We need to leave her some sort of message." I voiced out, sitting on my now usual spot on Daryl's hood. I kicked my legs slightly in the air, waiting for someone to get us on the move. I hated that we needed to leave the little girl out there alone, but I was outvoted.

"Maybe we can move a car and write something on the windshield." Old man offered, to which I nodded. Good idea.

"We can't just leave her!" Mother one cried out, hugging herself.

"Carol, we need to go. Our group is at a farm. It's safer for us there." The old man put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll keep looking for her."

She swallowed another cry, then nodded.

I jumped off the hood and started to scan our supplies. "What are we going to paint with?"

"Found this." Old man held up a small can of paint, like one of those sampler you buy before buying the bigger cans. And a paint brush. Whoever's car that was found in really needs to prioritize.

"Okay. Write something, and I'll go check a few more cars before we go." I jerked my thumb towards the highway, then started off. I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to see who it was. "Crossbow…"

"Thought I'd be better if ya didn't run off alone." He shrugged, pulled out his crossbow, and got ready to shoot anything that moaned.

"Fine." I opened up a Chevy Caviler and started to poke around. There was nothing in the truck, so I moved to the back seat. There was a black bag that looked pretty heavy duty. Pulling it out onto the ground, I started to sift through the contents.

Now this person knew what to pack for an apocalypse. I pulled everything out, holding everything up so that Daryl could get a glimpse of it as well. First there were sneakers, half a size too big for me but would still work, and a pair of socks, which was lovely since I had stupidly packed so few pairs myself. Next came a flashlight and an extra pack of batteries to go with it.

Then a water canteen that would be able to hold enough water for when I went on a trip to find the little girl. An extra knife was also a welcome sight, especially since mine was becoming dull from use. The last two things almost made me cheer out with joy. Not only was there a first aid kit, which looked of high quality, not those things full of Band-Aids. Then, finally, the grand prize…two packs of bullets.

"What the hell is all of tat?" Daryl asked, looking at all of the items strewn across the pavement.

"My new gear." I gave him a look, to which he just shook his head. I shoved everything back into the black pack, then tossed in the Swiss army knife I found before. I saw a front pocket and pulled out a small wallet. Flipping it open, I saw a license. "Guess Mari was one smart chick, huh?" I pulled the bag onto my back, and realized I would have to figure out what to keep with me from my old stuff, and what I would need to just give to the group.

"Couldn't be too smart if she died." He muttered, and started to walk back towards the ground.

Something snapped in me, and I ran so I stood in front of him. "Dying is not from lack of intelligence! It is because we live in a hell! Maybe she died to save someone. Maybe she died to save her sister!" I clenched my jaw.

"Ya got somethin' you wanna share?" He muttered, looking shocked at my outburst.

Straightening my shirt, I stood up taller. "Nope, I'm good." Spinning on my heels, I made my way back to the group. "Okay, let's head out."

Everyone nodded, and moved to get into their cars. I looked over at Daryl while everyone got into the RV.

"Ya comin', Becca?" His lips twitched into the now familiar smirk, to which I just rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, Dixon." He gave me a look, and I shrugged, sliding into the passenger seat of the truck.

He got behind the wheel, turned on the car, and gave me a look.

"What?"

"Ya just don't make any damn sense."

I looked at him while he started to follow the RV. "Yeah, 'cause I can read you like a book." I made sure my sarcasm was thick.

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

I shifted from foot to foot, ready to just leave. People were crying, and everyone was putting stones into a pile. I didn't know any of these new people, and I sure as hell didn't know who they were burying.

Glancing at Daryl, I saw that he was having similar feelings. Finally, everyone was allowed to leave, leaving just the family to mourn for their fallen.

Our group gathered over by the cars, piled on the yard of the far. Once again, I hoped onto the hood of the car. Felt nice to sit down after so long standing all the time.

"So…how's the boy?" I asked, directing it towards mother two and Officer. I saw everyone's head snap towards me, some with mouth open, others with eyes the size of saucers. Guess that shocked some of them.

"He's gonna be just fine." Mom two nodded, holding onto her necklace, then gave me a slight smile. "Thanks."

I nodded, then shrugged slightly, feeling uncomfortable. "So, now what?"

"We should start looking for Sophia." Old man piped up, looking around the group as everyone nodded their agreement.

"Well, Shane's injured, and I'd like to stay…" Officer said, looking a little sheepish about asking to take a break for a little bit.

"I'll go." Daryl shrugged, standing up.

"I'll go too." I couldn't believe the words left my lips. But hell, the boy was growing on me.

"Nah, I got it." He pulled his crossbow off his back and loaded it. "Don't need to be watchin' yer ass too."

"Fine, have fun by yourself, Crossbow." I muttered, not able to hide my disgust. Try to help the boy and he pushes me away? Hell no! He can do that shit himself.

"Alright, well how about the rest of y'all try to gather water, I think we're runnin' low." Officer said, then wrapped his arm around mom two and led both of them into the house.

Daryl gave me a look, then stomped off into the woods. Baby.

Jumping off the hood, I looked the people over. "Alright, let's get to it." I smirked, then pulled the canteen out of my bag, tossing the rest into Daryl's truck. The canteen had a strap on it, which I threw over my shoulder and turned to the group.

"Where would we get water?" Asian boy asked, scanning his eyes around the far which we could see.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I did my own sweep. "It's a pretty big farm, right? Gotta be a well around here."

Blondie nodded, taking off in a random direction. "I think I saw one when we came in."

Not even sure if that was the way we came, I decided to follow. I didn't have any better idea, so might as well. The remaining group followed.

We got to a well a few yards away, still in sight of the RV. Smirking, I grabbed the crank and started to turn it, pulling the bucket up. Everyone smiled and waited for the cool drink.

There was a moan, and my hands flew off the crank, pulling out my knife. Everyone else followed suit, making a sweeping motion. "See it?" I hissed, trying to spot the creature.

"Um…guys?" Asian muttered. Turning, I saw him looking down into the well. Sheathing my knife, I ran my open palm over my face.

"Please tell me it's not where I think it is."

"Sorry, Red." Asian muttered, and I looked down into the water.

At the bottom was a Walker, moaning and swatting at the wall. I couldn't tell much from where I stood, but he must have been pretty freaking big since the space between his stomach and well's wall was thin. "How the hell are we going to get him out of there?" Old man.

"I don't think it matters. Bullet through the head and leave it be."

"But then we can't drink it."

"Well I'm not comfortable drinking it now anyway. Who the hell knows what it's already done in it."

"No we need to get it out." I rolled my eyes at the old man. Surely we'll just end up sealing it off, but whatever. No skin off my back.

"I'm going to go se if I can find wood to seal it up with." I muttered to no one in general, then walked off towards the shed.

Opening the shed doors, I smirked at what I saw. It wasn't a shed so much as a small hardware story. Stacks of two-by-fours were placed against the back wall. The wall to the left was filled with every tool imaginable; hammers, saws, screwdrivers, and boxes of nails and screws. I was in heaven.

Before the world went to shit, I didn't have a lot of friends. Most people shied away from me because of my family, feeling I was too religious. There lost, not mine. Anyway, I took up a lot of hobbies to fill my time. Archery and carpentry were my favorites. Give me wood and nails and I could build anything under the sun.

There was some other farm stuff in the other corner which I decided to use to my advantage. I pulled a wheelbarrow towards the wall of tools and looked it over. I pulled a hammer off the wall and slid it into my belt loop, shaking my hips slightly to make sure it would stay in place. Sure that it would, I grabbed an open box of nails and put them in the bottom of the barrow. Then I pushed it over to the two by fours, and loaded it up with five planks. As a last thought, I threw a hand saw on top of it all.

Making my way back over to the well, I let out a huff of air and looked around. Already I was drenched in sweat, and not too pleased about it if I do say so.

Asian was storming off, and this vomit inducing, bloated Walker laid unmoving on the ground. Everyone was panting, looking more exhausted than I saw.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, wiping sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.

"Glenn went in and brought the Walker out of the well…it was a close call." Blondie panted out, then looked at everyone. "Imma find another well." She trudged off.

The rest looked at me, looking equally exhausted. "Go. I got this." I waved them off, already unloading the wood.

They looked as if they were going to argue, but decided against it. "I'll be on the Winnebago if ya need me. I'll watch your back." Old man nodded, then walked off towards the RV.

I got down to work. Placing the plank overtop of the well, I pulled out the saw and started to cut down the wood so it was roughly the same side. I repeated with the other side, then stood up. Wiping more sweat off of my brow, I looked around. No one was in sight.

I took off my shirt, leaving me in just my jeans and tank. The cool breeze which hit my sweat covered back sent a delicious chill up my spine. Tossing the shirt into the wheelbarrow, I pulled the nails out, and grabbed the hammer. Lining up the nail, I quickly pounded it into the wood, then repeated three other times, two on each side. Giving it a firm pull, I decided it would work.

Repeating this with the remaining wood, I finished up the well in a little under an hour. It wouldn't have taken so long if not for the god damn heat.

Slipping the hammer back into my belt loop, I started to load everything into the barrow, ready to replace the tools I barrowed. Grabbing the handles, I swung it around, heading back towards the shed.

Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Daryl was walking into the RV, a beer bottle in hand. I rolled my eyes at the fact that even in a zombie hell, Daryl still had a beer. Wait no…there was something else…something white poked out of the bottle.

Going back into the shed, I unloaded all of the material, but the image of the beer bottle and mysterious white object staid in my mind. Nibbling on my bottom lip, I struggled to figure out what it was.

What goes in a bottle? Something that needs water. What needs water? A flower. What type of flower was white? There were a few…but what one would he take into the RV? Mom one was in the RV…maybe a Cherokee rose? There were some legends behind it, but I doubted that the redneck would know them.

Either way, one thing was true. Daryl wasn't the harsh redneck I thought he was. He was bringing the upset woman a flower. That showed something, something that I didn't see before. The softer side of Daryl. And damn it, I wanted to see more of it.

_**A:N/ Okay, so the first few chapters I tried to get all of the events pretty close, but that was because I have the whole first season on my Ipod. BUT I only have the first season, so everything else I'm doing from memory or clips online and notes. Sorry about that, but I still like it. Did you? Let me know! Thanks to RAINRAIN9 for the great zombie pack!**_

_**Question of the day:**_

_**Your falling asleep, and are alone in the apocalypse. What is at your side?**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all of my avid reviewers! England101, Nelle07, Leyshla Gisel, RAINRAIN9, Rednecks 'n Angels, and to TripleLLL for giving me 4 reviews in one day, which made me jump for join since it was the day after I updated, which doesn't happy often. Thank you all, you make writing fun. LOVE YOU ALL!**_

Waking up the next morning, I let out a groan. I was still sleeping in the trucks cab, and I hated it. I was too tall to sleep in here again. Soon, I'd need to go to town and get myself a tent.

Pulling my hair into a pony, I slid out of the cab. "'Mornin'!" I called up to the old man, who smiled and waved at me. You know what, he wasn't too bad of a guy.

"Morning to you too, Red." He called back.

"Have you seen Blondie?" I called up, grabbing a bottle of water from next to the RV, taking a long draw from it.

"Yeah, over by the well getting water." He pointed his finger away from the well from yesterday, towards apparently a different well.

I nodded my thanks, then followed his direction. In all honesty, I wanted to ask where Daryl was, but there was no way in hell I was about to. He hadn't talked to me since he left yesterday. When he got back, he stayed away from me, and set up his tent on the outskirts of the camp. And apparently he was off today, probably looking for the little girl again. I wanted to look for her too. Maybe I could do a quick sweep with Blondie later.

Getting to the well, I saw that she had just finished filling up two large jugs with water, the same jugs we used to get water from the river. "Hey Blondie!"

She dropped the jug she was holding to the ground. Thankfully it only fell a few inches to the ground. "Oh, hey Red." She picked the jug back up, with effort, and started back towards camp.

Grabbing the other, smaller one, I followed suit. We got back to "camp" and put the water next to the RV. "I gotta question for ya."

"Yeah?" She wiped sweat from her brow. "And what is that?"

"You still want to learn how to shoot?" I raised my eyebrows, and tried to hide my smile as her face lit up.

"Hell yeah! Lets go!" She pulled out her pistol, and looked at me happily.

"Cool it, hot shot. Put the gun away until we get to the shooting range." I smiled and shook my head, looking up at the old man. "We'll be past the fence so we don't attract Walkers."

"Stay safe, and stay close." He responded, to which I just nodded and started to walk in the direction towards the visible fence line. I was glad that I saw still in just a tank and jeans, but I would need to change when I got back.

Getting to the fence, I quickly threw myself over, and was pleased when Blondie did it just as gracefully. Looking around, I took in our surroundings.

"Alright." I walked up to a tree, pulled out my knife, and dug an "x" into the tree. "Ya see that?" I asked, putting away the weapon. "That's your goal."

She pulled out the gun and held it up, her arms unsure.

Walking up, I started to correct her. "Widen your feet slightly." I said as I tapped her foot with mine. She obeyed immediately, to which I was pleased. "Relax your arms or your gonna hurt yourself."

She relaxed her arms slightly, just enough so I didn't think she would seriously hurt herself. "Alright, take your time and shoot. Be ready for the kick back, but make every shot count. We don't have a lot of ammo."

She nodded, and took a shot. Her arms threw back, but not as bad as I had anticipated. Her aim though, was less than to be desired.

"Damn it!" She hissed, surely pissed she couldn't even hit the tree.

"Not everyone can be as good as me." I smirked, then tilted my head. "Well what the hell are you waiting for? Shoot again."

She did, this time taking more time to line up her shoot. This time, she hit the bark. Yes it was more like she skimmed it, but better.

"Again." She followed my instructions, and this time she hit the tree, just a few inches above the x. I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth before she lined up her shot again, hitting the edge of the x.

"Damn girl, you're a quick study." I whistled out, impressed. It took me longer to learn how to shoot.

She smirked, but staid in the zone. She shot again, hitting the target. "There is no way in hell this is your first time shooting."

She smiled at me and lowered the gun. "My dad tried to teach me, but I never actually got to shoot. So yeah, I kind of know."

"I'm still taking the credit." I said with a shrug, which made her chuckle.

"Fine."

Getting back to camp, I smiled at Blondie. Yeah, actually smiled. That was something I hadn't done since the day I was exposed to all of this.

"Is that a smile, Red?"

"Shut up Blondie." I tried to sound angry, but it didn't carry through, and she could tell.

"Oh, I'm so scared."

"Go take watch." I shoved her in the direction of the RV, to which she just threw a laugh at me, but went there anyway.

"Hey!" I called out as Asian ran past me. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me.

"Yeah, Red?"

"Have you seen Crossbow?"

He smiled at me and laughed. "Wait, we have nicknames too?"

"Yeah, but they're all lame." He raised his eyebrow, and I shook my head quickly. "Have you seen him?"

"Um…yeah. Early this morning he took one of Hershel's horses to go look for Sophia."

Nodding, I leaned against the RV. "What's going on between you too anyway?"

I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. "Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Come on, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Up until like…today you only talked to him. What gives?"

"Well, he's the only one that has a thick enough skin to be around me."

He shook his head. "I have thick skin." Damn, was he pouting?

"Whatever you say, Asian." I smirked, and he just scoffed.

"I'm Korean."

"Hey, you said you had the skin for it."

"Walker!" Blondie yelled from on top of the RV, and I jumped off the RV.

Officer started to run towards the figure, and I was hot on his heals, as well as Scowl (unfortunately), the black man, and of course Asian. I had my knife out, ready to kill it.

"Don't shoot!" I called to Blondie. It was only one from what I could tell. A shot would just draw more in.

I picked up my pace so that I was right next to Officer. As we got closer, the trees began to block the sun. My vision started to zone in on the details, from the bottom up.

Shoes, dirty pants, crossbow dragging on the ground. Wait, what the fuck? My eyes darted to the face. No…No no no no no.

Daryl, face bloodied around the mouth, Walker ears strung around his neck. No words, but also no moans.

Rick raised his gun, but I was frozen, knife half way in the air, half way to the ground.

"Is that Daryl?" Asian asked as I felt a lump raise in my throat. Why wasn't he fucking talking? I felt my hand begin to shake slightly, knife lowering even more.

"It's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. Ya gonna pull the trigger or what?" I felt a soft cry of relief leave my lips and my knife was now fully at my side. He talked, oh thank god he talked!

"Daryl-" I whispered just seconds before the unthinkable happened.

It was like someone hit the slow motion button on a TV. Daryl's head jerked to the left, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"No!" My voice echoed Officers. I lunged forward, falling to my knees beside him. "Daryl!" My hand trembled over his body, not sure what to do. From the looks of it, the bullet just grazed his temple, but still, there was so much blood. I couldn't tell the old from the new.

I was pulled away, and I watched as Officer and Scowl dragged him back towards camp. Sitting there, butt on dirt and knees to chest, I just watched. No tears fell, but no tears were there to fall. I just kept swallowing thickly, hoping my throat would loosen enough so I could breath again.

"You shot him?" I yelled in Blondie's face. Officer said that I had to let the doc, my bad the _vet,_ fix up Daryl before I could see him. So, might as well get it out in the open.

"Red, calm down. She thought he was a Walker." Scowl muttered from where he was sharpening his knife. Incorrectly I might add, but that would be for later.

"No! We told her not to shoot! We were there! If she would have just listened, he wouldn't be in there! Did you see how he looked? He went through hell to get back here, just to be shot in the fucking head!" I threw my hands up and began to pace angrily. "I need something to punch." I growled.

"Hey now, calm down." Scowl ordered, holding up his knife. As if that would scare me.

"You best not point that damn thing at me unless you want to be fishin' it out your ass." I growled, to which he just lowered the knife and adverted his gaze. Smart man.

"Red?"

My head jerked up to see Officer standing on the porch. I ran up the three stairs until I was at his side.

"Is he okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Hershel said he's stable. You can go see him now."

I nodded, then ran into the house. Some of the farmer's daughters pointed me in the direction of his room.

Getting to the door, I cracked it open and looked in. He didn't move, and it seemed like he was asleep. Or unconscious, one of the two.

Walking into the room, I saw that his head was wrapped in a white gauze bandage, as well his stomach, which was uncovered. What once was angry scars were now thin pink lines covered his back, and his chest. Poor man.

Keeping my footsteps quiet, I slowly walked over to the chair next to his bed. Sitting down, I looked him over. _He is alive. He's okay. He is alive. He's okay._ I kept chanting to myself. My hand apparently reached out during my inner calming session, fingers ghosting over the longest scar on his back.

He groaned and started to wake. I quickly withdrew my hand and watched him, waiting for his blue eyes to meet mine before I truly knew he was okay.

Turning, his eyes fluttered open. It took him a moment to realize I was in the room and when he did he quickly pulled the blanket up to cover his chest. Too late for that.

I let out a sigh and leaned my head against the wall, letting relief wash over me.

"What the hell is your problem? I'm the one who got shot." He groaned out, but a smile tugged at his lips. Didn't help with my anger though.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I rested my arms on my legs. Looking at him, I shook my head and promptly looked away. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Just went lookin' fer the girl." He grunted out.

"Almost got yourself killed, asshole." I wasn't trying to be a bitch, but I just was. Maybe it was because I was mad at him, or because I was scared. Maybe it was because I didn't want to be close to him.

"I've had worse."

I glared at him, hoping he got how pissed I saw. Shaking my head, I let out a slow breath, trying to calm myself. "You just don't get it."

"Help me get it, 'en." His voice seemed to be softer now. Damn him for making my knees go weak.

"I don't have anyone else in this camp, okay? When I saw you walk up today, looking like a damn Walker, do you know how I felt?" Closing my eyes, I tilted my head up towards the ceiling. "Like there really wasn't any more hope left. Then you talked, and I thought that maybe there was a god who wanted to have some joy." Shaking my head, I swallowed thickly. "Then Blondie shot you, and I just didn't know what to think anymore."

"I ain't dead." Usually, that would have come out as some sort of smart ass remark, but now his voice was low and soft, filled with so many different emotions. Opening my eyes, I turned my head and looked at him.

"Still, I thought you were."

He shifted awkwardly on the bed, and I shook my head. "Forget it." I stood up and made my way towards the door.

A rough hand wrapped around my wrist, and pulled me back. Turning, I was pulled closer.

"You promised me you'd stay." He whispered, blue eyes locked on my, rendering me motionless. I remembered that day, when the camp was attacked.

"I told you I don't make promises." I whispered, but wasn't even so sure myself anymore. He tugged on my arm so that I was forced to move closer until our faces were mere inches apart.

"Ya also told me ya didn't want to leave."

I looked at him for a moment, eyes darting from lips to eyes. "I don't."

With one last jerk of my arm, I was pulled to his lips. His right hand stayed firmly on my arm, while the other one flew behind my neck, keeping me to him. Like I was going to back away.

My own hands started to move. My left hand ghosted up his chest, minding the bandage for the unknown injury. Right hand on his cheek, I let our lips dance in primal dance, savoring the moment. His calloused hands ran up and down my body, while his lips were as soft as silk.

Moaning into his mouth, I resisted the urge to press my body to his, fearing hurting him.

After what seemed like too short for such a heavenly experience, his grip on my neck loosened and he laid back down on the bed, but we didn't remove our hands.

I could feel how big my eyes were, and felt pink tingle at my cheeks, but my gaze didn't falter. "Well shit…"

He laughed and brushed a rebel strand of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." I whispered, fighting the urge to just doing it again.

"Me too." Then I was pulled back down, pulled into another kiss. Damn, it was heavenly. Who cares that the world has gone to shit. Who the hell gives a damn that the man below me seemed to have enough emotion changes to give me whiplash. I was up to the challenge to keep up, and I'd be damned if I let him win this game of cat and mouse.

_**A:N/ Good? I tried to make it all good, but I'm not sure I'm fully in love with it. I think I'll probably go back and edit it before I upload it, but let me know what you think. Just saying sorry with the details, never been kissed, so yeah…alrighty, let me know what ya think!**_

_**Question of the day:**_

_**Daryl has a bag that he keeps secret. What's in it? (small bag)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: So, here's the deal. If I get 60 reviews, then I'll post a question about the life of one of the characters. This could be one I'll make up later, one that dies in the show, or just one of the many of the show. The sooner I get the reviews, the more important the question will be. Their fate is up to you : )**_

"Um…" The soft voice came from the door, and I turned at my position on the bed. Mom one. "I was just bringing you two your dinners." She put the tray down on the side table, and wrapped her arms around her self.

We both gave her a slight nod, neither of us ones to say thanks.

She stood there, looking at her feet for a few moments. Sighing, I turned farther away from Daryl, but felt his hand tighten around my wrist. "Is there something you need to say?" Usually I would have snapped this, but I was just too damn happy. Damn that man for breaking down my walls.

She lifted her head, closed her eyes, and nodded. After a few breaths, she opened her eyes and looked at Daryl. "Thank you…for going out there and looking for my little girl…You almost got yourself killed, but thank you for looking." She dipped her head, then was gone.

"That was weird." I muttered, turning back towards Daryl. I was perched on the side of the bed, making sure not to touch him. "I have a question."

He groaned and pulled him farther into a sitting position. I didn't miss his thumb making light circles over my wrist. It was making me loose my train of thought.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Got shot in the head by a trigger happy bitch." He grumbled.

"Before then." My free hand reached up and pulled back the blanket, revealing the white gauze wrapped around his abs.

He quickly pulled the blanket back up, giving me a look. I'd have to figure out what that was about later. "Got an arrow through the side."

A breath slipped through my lips, startling even me. "What the fuck did you do?"

"Damn horse bucked me off. Fell down, arrow through the side." He shrugged, but didn't meet my eyes. He was hiding something, but I let it go. I was hiding a shit load of stuff from him.

"I should go." I stood up, pulling my wrist from his grasp.

"Why?" He struggled to throw his feet over the side of the bed, but winced as he did, hand flying to his side. "Fuck."

"Stay." I put my hands on his chest, guiding him back to the bed. "I just need to think…" Leaving it at that, I grabbed my bowl off the table, then hurried off.

Getting to the porch, I sat on the steps, slowly eating my dinner. My thoughts wandered, and I wish I could reign them in. It wasn't Daryl, it was everything I was feeling.

Did I care for him? Yes. But that wasn't something that was good. Lately, that has been the kiss of death.

"Red?" Asian sat down next to me, giving me a look.

"Yeah?" I put the bowl next to me, not able to eat anything else.

"You okay?"

Laughing softly to myself, I reached over and took his baseball cap. Slipping it onto my head, I nodded. "Whatever the hell okay is in this new world."

"How's the redneck?'

I stiffened and gave him a look from the corner of my eye. "Fine."

"Okay…touchy subject, got it." He leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Gotta ask you a question though."

Groaning, I leaned back on the stairs looking at the sky. "Fantastic."

"Can't you just call me by my name?"

"No." I smirked at him slightly, and added, "But I guess you can help me make a better nickname for you." Yeah, not something I usually do, but hey, the kid's been nice to me. At this point him, old man, and Blondie would be allowed to pick their own nicknames. As close to their real names I would go. But I still liked the nickname for Blondie…

"Wow." He chuckled and leaned next to me, copy my position.

"Yeah, I don't usually do it though, so use the power wisely."

He reached over and took the cap off my head and placed it on his. "I'll let ya know as soon as I think of one."

Standing up, I nodded. "You better." I took my hair down and put it into a fresh pony, keeping all of the hair out of my eyes. Scanning the camp, I rolled my shoulders. "It's getting cold…I'm ganna change, then walk the perimeter."

"Red, you've done a lot today. Take it easy." He stood, looking worried for me.

"I haven't done shit for the little girl. I'll make sure I'm careful." I walked down the stairs and made my way towards the clump of cars.

"Hey, Red!" Couldn't deny that the name was growing on me. I didn't miss that Daryl was the only one who called me Little Red…damn it, why did I have butterflies when I thought about him? I needed to stab something.

"Hey." I gave the old man a weak wave, moving over to Daryl's truck. Opening the cab's door, pulling open one of my two bags. Pulling out a new pair of jeans, I also tugged out a long sleeved Pitt T-shirt which I brought from home. Walking to the other side of the car, out of the old man's sight.

I changed quickly, then threw the dirty clothes into the truck. It's not like Daryl would be in it anytime soon, I'd clean it up later. I grabbed the flashlight out of the black bag, checking the strength of the batteries, then shut the door. Walking back around, I repositioned all of my weapons.

"I'm going to do a perimeter check." I called up to him, already making my way past the RV.

"Be careful! Holler if you need help." Lifting my hand to show him I heard, I kept walking. Turning on the flashlight, I held my knife in my right hand, and flashlight in my left. Making a slow sweep with the beam, I checked the fence around the farm. I almost hoped to pass a Walker, just to get my anger out. Okay, I wasn't really angry, just so confused. Damn it, I was such a girl.

I heard a twig snap, and I jerked, making a 360 sweep, trying to locate the origin of noise. Another snap, but I still didn't see anything moving. On the flip side of the coin, I hadn't heard any moaning yet. Maybe it was someone who was alive.

Then there was shuffling behind me, and I turned, knife raised. "Hello, Red."

Lowering my knife, I tried to calm myself. "Damn it, what the hell are you doing out here?" I glared at Scowl.

He walked towards me, hands on hips, a creepy smirk on his face. "Looking for you." Oh damn, this wasn't going to end well.

"Yeah, well I'm not some bitch who needs saving." I changed my grip on the knife, but suddenly the weight of the gun in my waistband seemed to increase. I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my shoulder, turning me to face him.

"I didn't say you could leave, now did I?"

"I didn't ask." I spat back, jerking my arm from his grip.

I walked away, but I could hear his footsteps behind me. I swallowed thickly but kept walking. I should have turned back towards the old man, but I didn't want to have to double back past Scowl.

My heart started to speed up when I realized how truly massive the farm was. I was so much farther away from Old Man than I meant to be.

Finally, I decided that flight wasn't working, so might as well try fight. Turning, I was going to tell Scowl to fuck off, but never got that far.

As soon as I faced him, he lunged at me. I hit the ground with a thud, and my knife fell from my grasp.

Struggling, I tried to flip him off of me, but he was too big. He planted a knee on each side of my hips, hands pinned above my head. He placed his face close to mine, brushing our noses together. "I always loved a girl with…" His eyes scanned my body and he licked his lips. "Spunk."

"Get off of me, you piece of shit!" I struggled under him, but barely moved. My head turned to the side so not to touch his. There was my knife. So close, but yet so far from being useful.

"Now, let's get this straight." He placed a rough kiss on my cheek, and I started to squirm again. I wanted to throw up. "I haven't had any…fun in a while. So, since you are all nice an cozy with the redneck, I don't see why you can't help me as well."

"I'm not a slut. I haven't slept with him."

"Oh, so you say. But why else would he be nice to you. You know that's why he spends time with you." He jerked my head so I was forced to look at him. "You are a slut." He crushed his mouth to mine, and forced his tongue into my mouth. I bit down, hard, onto his tongue. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and he pulled back, letting out a growl of pain.

In that moment, his grip on my hands loosened. I pulled my arms away grabbed the knife. I was about to place it to his neck when he reared back, his hand meeting my face.

Yelping, I felt the warm blood start to trickle down my face from my eyebrow. Great, he must have tore up my face.

"Bitch." He spat out, and I felt drips of blood hit my face.

He took the knife and threw it into the darkness. I was screwed.

Then, something hit me. "Help!" I screamed out, as loud as I could. Maybe the old man would hear me.

His hand clamped over my mouth, stifling my scream. "You'll pay for that."

"Get off of her!" My eyes flickered past Scowl, seeing Asian and Old Man run up towards us. Officer was right behind.

"Shane, get off of her." Officer ordered, and when he didn't, he yanked him off of me.

"Red!" Asian and Old Man ran towards me, and helped me stand. I shook them off and wiped my face with my arm.

"Kill that son of a bitch." I spat out his blood from my mouth and glared at Officer. "He's worse than a fucking herd of Walkers."

I walked back to camp, Asian hurrying up next to me. "What did he do?"

I gave him a look a sighed. "Called me a slut. Tried to rape me." I kept walking, turning my gaze towards Daryl's car. Getting to it, I pulled out the shirt I wore earlier today and pressed it against my eyebrow, feeling the sting of the cut.

"Let me see." He tugged at my hand until I lowered the shirt. "Damn." he sighed. "Doesn't look too bad, just a few butterfly stitches."

Pressing the shirt back to my cut, I gave him a look. "Stitches?"

"Not really. They're just strips to hold a cut together." He looked towards the RV then sighed. "Except I don't think we have any anymore…"

"You know what they are?" I asked. When he nodded, I pulled out the black bag, putting it on the hood of the truck. "I found a first aid kit earlier." Pulling it out, I handed it to him. "Didn't realize the group was running low on supplies."

He opened it, and pulled out something, placing the kit back on the hood. "Sit." I slid onto the hood as I was told.

Opening the packet in his hand, I saw him pull out a wipe. Clenching my jaw, I gave a slight nod. He cleaned the wound quickly, and I let out a soft hiss. Didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, but still hurt all the same. Then he pulled out what I guessed was the butterfly strips and used his other hand to pull the cut together, then put the strips on, sealing the cut close.

"There, good as new." He said, smiling at me, then closed the kit.

"Thanks." I smiled weakly then looked around. "Now if we could only kill that son of a bitch, the world would be better." I shook my head and jumped off the hood. "I'm going to go to bed."

He nodded, then gave me a look. "Me and Dale will keep watch." I nodded, but he looked me over. "I'll make sure no one comes near the car tonight, okay?"

Looking him over, I nodded. "Thanks."

With one last nod, he moved over to the RV, only a stone throw away from the truck, and moved to the top with the old man.

Getting into the cab of the car, I locked the doors and threw my bags and clothes onto the floor of the truck, then laid down. Eventually I slipped into sleep, but not without feeling Scowl's lips on mine, and the taste of him…it made me sick.

"_Becca, I'm hungry." Lucy whispered from the back of the SUV. We'd been driving for about two hours. Mother was asleep with Henry, but we were running out of gas. We'd have to change over to another car soon. Shouldn't be too hard, there were enough of them sitting off to the side of the road. I just didn't want to stop._

"_Alright sweetie. We'll get food soon." The car beeped at me, and I knew that w would have to change cars now. There weren't any creatures near by, so it should be an easy transition._

"_When?"_

_Pulling over, I looked back at her, forcing a smile. "Now. Can you wake them up?" I was still mad that my mother decided to shut down instead of fight. We needed her, and she just checked out. Now I'm the one stuck playing savior._

_She nodded and started to nudge them. They woke up, and I looked them all over. "Alright, I'm going to get all of you food. We can wait here for five minutes, then we need to get a new car. We're out of gas."_

_They nodded, and my mother started to cry again, not able to bare the fact that her husband and eldest son were dead._

_Getting out of the car, I pulled my knife out, pressing my back into the car as I shut my door. Once everything looked clear, I moved to the trunk, opened it, and grabbed a few bags of food, and a bottle of water for everyone. As a last thought, I tucked the pistol into my waistband, even though I didn't know how to use it. Couldn't be too hard, point and pull the trigger. I quickly shut the trunk then got back behind the wheel._

_Relocking the door, I turned and passed out the water, then the bags of food. "Five minutes." Reminded them as I started to drink my water, trying to figure out what to do. We would run out of food quickly, I was sure of that. The CDC was in Atlanta, and we had driven about two hours in the opposite direction, plus four for when Brain was driving. Since Atlanta was only an hour away from Cumming, Georgia, we could double back, taking back roads, and get to the CDC in about seven hours, give or take._

"_What now?" My mother whispered, voice hoarse from crying._

"_We take another car, then head for Atlanta."_

"_No. That's probably where it started."_

"_Then what do you suggest?" I crossed my arms over my chest, eying her down._

"_Back up north."_

"_Why?" _

"_If it started down here, it hasn't made it up there yet. We should go home."_

_No a terrible point. Nodding, I looked around at the cars at our disposal. "Fine. We'll head up north." I didn't tell her that it would mean we would have to change cars every few hours, meaning more chance of getting attacked._

"_Alright, five minutes are up." I chewed on my lip, scanning the area. "That black Trailblazer look good to you?" I asked, nodding towards the car two in front of us._

"_We can't steal a car, Rebecca!" My mother gasped, throwing a hand to her chest._

"_Mother, the world has ended. I don't think anyone is going to care if we take someone's car."_

"_But what if they come back and need their car?" I gave her a look, trying to urge her to stop it. We both knew they were probably dead._

"_I'll go and check it out. Make sure its got gas and…clear."_

"_Wait, what if something comes after us?"_

_Rolling my eyes, I pulled out the gun and gave it to her. "Don't use it if you don't have to." I ordered her, and saw how scared she was. "Only in case you need it. Just yell if anything happens. I'll be back quickly."_

_She nodded, and I got out of the car. She was too scared to be much of a help. But I couldn't blame here. When someone dies, you can go a lot of ways, but as for extremes, it's one of two. Shut down, like her, or put up a wall and try to avenge them, like me._

_Pulling out my knife, I relocked the car door, shut it, and shuffled my way towards the large car. I didn't know a lot about cars, but my first car was a Trailblazer. Four wheel drive was a plus, and it was big enough to fit all of our supplies and us comfortably. Which was good since we had two little kids with us._

_Opening the door, I peeked in the back. Thankfully there wasn't anyone in it. Jumping behind the wheel, I locked the door, panting. I was so scared that those creatures would attack us again._

_Looking at the ignition, I saw that the keys were still in it. Thank god! Turning the keys, I watched as the car rumbled to life, and looked at the gas gauge. Three-fourths tank full. We could get pretty far on that much gas._

_Turning, I looked into the back. There wasn't really anything back there. Good and bad. Bad because it didn't help us with any supplies, but good because I wouldn't need to get rid of anything._

_Pulling the keys from the ignition, I got out of the car and looked around. No creatures._

_Moving to the trunk, I opened it and looked inside. A few water bottles, and a few rolls of toilet paper. Guess they either weren't prepared, or they took everything else with them._

_Closing it, I heard a scream._

"_Dang it." I muttered. Still wasn't used to being able to curse, and I turned around. This wasn't good._

_Lucy and Mother were huddled together on the one side of the car, clutching each other and screaming. There was a creature sticking its head through the broken window on the other side of the car._

_But I didn't see Henry._

"_Where's Henry?" I screamed running up to them. _

_Lucy pointed a trembling hand towards the car, and I let out a cry. Snatching the gun from my mother's hand, I ran to the other side of the car._

"_Hey ugly!" I screamed, trying to get it's attention._

_He backed up and looked at me, tilting his head and gurgling. Flesh was ripped from his face, showing his teeth. The rest of his flesh was a sickly gray. Blood trickled from his open mouth, down the front of him. The stench was nearly unbearable, and I wanted to throw up._

_Except, he was stumbling towards me._

_Why didn't I ask my father to teach me how to shoot when he tough Brian? Too late for that, I raised my gun, pulled back the hammer, and squeezed. My arm flew back with the kickback, and I winced at the sound of the bullet hitting the rotting flesh._

_There was a thump, and I looked to see the creature on the ground. Kicking it with my sneaker, it didn't move. Dead enough for me._

_Running to the car, I threw the door open, now unlocked since my mother unlocked the car to get out herself._

_Pulling Henry out of the car, I pulled him into a hug, trying to sooth his cries of fear. Except…he wasn't crying, he was sobbing, screaming even. Looking down, I saw a large chunk of flesh torn from his throat._

"_No!" I screamed, clamping my hand over the wound, urging the blood to stop. "No!" Why was this happening? First my father, then Brian, now Henry? It wasn't right!_

"_Becca." He gurgled out, and I looked at him. Blood trickled out the corner of his mouth and his head rolled side to side. "Make it stop."_

_Looking at him, my vision blurred with tears. "What?"_

"_It hurts. Make it stop." His voice was weak, but his eyes flew to the gun, then back at my face. _

_A small bloody hand reach up and swiped my cheek. "Don't cry." He whispered, and I quickly sniffled back the tears. He was right. "Please, end it."_

_I didn't want to shoot my brother! That was murder! But, he wanted it. He was in pain. My mind flew to euthanasia. Doctors would help patients kill themselves, so why couldn't I do this?_

_Drawing the gun up, I places the barrel onto his chest, right over his chest. "I love you, Henry."_

"_I love you too Becca." He smiled. "Don't let them get Lucy."_

"_I won't Henry. I promise." I pulled the trigger, and closed my eyes as his blood splattered on my face. _

_Lowering him to the ground, I kissed him on the forehead and swiped at my face, struggling to get the feeling of blood off. _

_Standing up, I stormed over to my mother. "I told you to use the gun to protect them!"_

"_I don't know how to shoot. Now where is my boy?"_

"_Dead, because you couldn't stand to shoot that creature." Shaking my head, I roughly grabbed Lucy's hand. Glaring at my mother, I added, "Get in the car. We're leaving."_

_She started to wail, but I ignored her. Putting Lucy into the car, I buckled her, and she looked at my hands. "He'll have fun up there with Brian and God." She smiled to herself._

_I just nodded, then got behind the wheel. Whatever made her feel better, but I knew that wasn't true. The only thing that made me feel better was the fact that he wouldn't turn into that creature. I had put him down before he got a chance to change._

**Like it? Sorry it's so long, but I had to put everything in. She had this dream because Shane's blood on her face reminded him of Henry's. And curve ball at the end. Did you pick up on it? Do you see the set up? Let's find out! : ) Love you all!**

**Question of the day:**

**What should Glenn's nickname be? (Let you have some say in the nicknames)**


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to CarlaWeasleyBlack, because she is learning or translated my story and her review into English. HOLY CRAP! That makes me so happy that someone would do that to read my story! Thank you so much!**_

Sitting around the fire, I was handed food by mom two. She gave me a look of pity, to which I just nodded. I was exhausted. Nightmares had been waking me up since the little girl went missing. Every time I woke up, I'd grab my weapons and storm off, trying to find her. Me and Daryl were probably tied with how many hours we put in looking for her.

Scowl walked towards the fire, took food, and sat down. I saw Officer give him a death glare, so he sighed, lowered his food, and looked at me. "Sorry 'bout yesterday. I was drunk."

He was in my face, and although he smelled terrible, I didn't smell any alcohol. He was sober and he knew it, but Officer and everyone else seemed to take it as a good apology so I just nodded. "Understood."

Everyone seemed to relax at this, which was stupid. Obviously it wasn't okay, but I just let it die. My mind wandered back to the redneck. I hadn't gone and seen him today, fearful of what he would say about my cut. Hell, fearful that he would bring up the kiss, or feelings, or us, or…shit, I was just scared to talk to him!

Asian was fidgeting off to the side, so I turned my attention to him. He looked between Old Man, and one of the farmer's daughters, the one he had been hanging around with.

Finally, he let out a breath and turned towards us. "So…the barns full of walkers."

I choked on the water I was drinking, coughed a little, then looked at him. "What?" I had walked past that barn at least twice a day. What did he mean by "full"?

"Yeah…I saw them the other day. At least a dozen of them." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But they haven't been a problem so far…"

Old Man piped in. "Yeah, and I talked to Hershel about it. He think's their sick…he's trying to cure them."

I got to my feet and began pacing slightly. "We can't just leave it how it is…"

"It's not our call. It's Hershel's farm…" Officer said, running a hand roughly over his face.

"Maybe beef up the security on it? More locks, board it up? Guards?" Better than just letting it sit.

Officer nodded at me, seeming pleased with my answer. "Could work. I'll go talk to Hershel about it."

He disappeared into the house, and I saw Blondie move out of Daryl's tent. What the hell was she doing in there?

Walking up to me, she gave me a look. "He's asking for you." I still wasn't on great terms with her, so I just nodded curtly and moved over to the tent.

Even though I felt everyone's eyes on me, I froze outside of the tent. I didn't want to talk to him. Think about it. I didn't call anyone by their god given names because it's too personal. Starting a relationship with one of them was an eternity away from names. An eternity in the wrong direction.

Sighing, I yanked on the zipper and stepped into the tent, surprised at how spacious it actually was. I zipped it back up, then sat promptly by the door. Plenty of space.

He was sitting, which was good, and just looked at me.

"So, what was Blondie in here for?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Jealous?"

"Just answer the damn question." Okay, so I was…just a little.

"Take that as a yes." He shook his head and sighed. "Apologizin' for shootin' me." He shrugged. He looked closer at me. "What the hell happened to ya?'

I fought the urge to cover my cut. "Fell."

"Clumsy, aren't ya?"

"When can ya get your ass out of here?" I smiled slightly, trying to change the subject quickly. No one better rat me out for lying.

"Today. Feel fine. Headin' out later."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't need no babysitter." He grumbled.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "Not what I meant. But I will go out there with you if you'd let me."

He smiled slightly and nodded. "Sure, guess it wouldn't be too much of a trouble fer ya to tag along." He sat up, obviously getting ready to leave. "Just don't shoot me."

"Remember, I don't make promises." I smiled and opened the tent. "Come on."

Getting out of the tent, I saw that most people were about doing their daily chores. Moving to the side, Daryl stood next to me and stretched. "Where to?"

He itched his chin and jerked his thumb towards the stables. "There."

"Yeah, 'cause horses just love you." I rolled my eyes, but followed him anyway. "So we looking for the little girl?"

"You mean Sophia?" He asked, seeming to tense slightly.

"Don't use names."

He turned and glared at me. Damn, guess I just landed in a shit storm. Why was he so pissy? Oh, that's right. He's Daryl. "Her name is Sophia. She's got a name. Use it."

"I'm good." I tried to keep the tension out of my voice. I wasn't too happy about all of this.

He stopped and made me look at him. "No. Her name is Sophia. She's a little girl, and we're ganna find 'er. And _when _we find 'er, yer gonna hug 'er, tell 'er yer name, and call 'er by Sophia."

"Why the hell does it matter?" I whispered, not liking how her name was starting to engrave into my mind.

"'Cause it's 'er name! Stop being a bitch and just call people by their names!" He threw his hands in the air and stormed off. Ah, good old Daryl.

I ran after him, faster of the two of us since he was injured. I stepped in front of him and stopped, forcing him to look at me. "I don't try to change you, why can you change me? I've been looking for that little girl as much as you have. Why does it matter what I call her?"

"'Cause if ya thought we could find 'er, ya'd be callin' 'er by 'er name."

So there is was. He thought that I didn't think we'd find her. That wasn't it. "No, it's just that I don't like using names…just to be safe."

He glared at me and shook his head. "I knew it." He passed me, stopping only to add, "I don't need ya to come along if ya think she's dead." Then walked off.

Well damn, that didn't go as well as I thought it would. Didn't want to be the next person to cross him.

I decided to go walk off my own steam. To be honest, I felt like shit. He was right. I guess I did have slight doubt about finding the girl. But then again, I had doubt that each one of us would make it to the next hour. I was actually more sure that Old Man would die of a heart attack then the little girl being dead.

Getting to the fence, I sat down and started to scan the area around me. Why hadn't I found her yet? If I had, me and Daryl wouldn't be in this fight.

After about half an hour of this, I decided to give in. Walking towards the stable, I saw mom one leaving in a hurry, so I quickly walked in. Daryl was doubled over in pain, saddle on the ground.

"Are you okay?" I asked, running to his side. He backed away, waving me off.

"Leave me alone."

"Well I can't do that if we're gonna find…Sophia."

He looked at me, eyes huge. "What?"

"You heard me, Crossbow." I smirked as he scoffed, standing up straighter.

"Glad ya finally learned 'er name." He rubbed his side, then went to pick up the saddle.

"Shut up." I walked over to the horse and began petting it. "What the hell did you do this time?"

He looked at me and sighed. "Flipped on Carol…"

"'Cause you were mad at me?" I asked, to which he shrugged.

"And she said she thought 'er daughter was dead." He shook his head and put the saddle down on what I guess it was on before he threw it.

"Should probably apologize."

"Do I look like I say sorry?"

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. "Nah, but I don't usually say names either."

"Ain't gonna say sorry." He grumbled, and I shook my head.

"Tough shit. Ya are."

He lifted his gaze to meet mine. "Or what?"

"Not or what. You're gonna do it because your mad at me. Not her." My hands flew to my hips as I waited for him to obey.

"No."

"Stop being an ass. Just go."

"Yer not my damn mother." He glared at me and turned to leave, but I didn't miss the fact that he made his way towards the spot I last saw Mom one.

Turning back to the horse, I started to pet it again. "You better help us find Sophia."

Sophia, what a beautiful name. Lucy would have loved it. Sophia was filling the void Lucy had left. If we didn't find her alive and well, I don't know what the hell I would do. It was like she was my sister, and I couldn't loose a sister again.

Getting back from another search for Sophia, I felt my heart drop. We still didn't find her.

Daryl threw an arm over my shoulder and sighed. "We'll find 'er."

"I know." I nodded quickly and sighed. "You hear about the Walkers?'

"What 'bout 'em?"

"There's a bunch of them in the barn. We don't know what to do."

His arm dropped from my shoulder and he walked towards the barn. I followed quickly, unsure what was about to happen.

The group was there, and I felt nervous. Chewing on my lip, mom one and two walked up to me. "Where were you two?"

"Looking for Sophia." I shrugged slightly.

Mom one looked at me, tears in her eyes, and threw her arms around me. "Thank you!"

I awkwardly patted her back. "Umhmm." It's not like I found her!

She pulled away and turned back to the barn. "We're trying to figure out what to do."

Walking up to the barn, I placed my eye to the crack in the door, I saw all of the Walkers. "Damn." I muttered stepping back. Suddenly I didn't feel too good being so close to it.

Grabbing the chain, I gave it a pull. "Seems strong enough."

"I say we clear it out!" Scowl growled, and I looked back at him, still pissed.

Daryl walked up to me and bumped me with his shoulder. "What do ya think we do?"

"Go ask McDonald what to do."

Everyone stopped talking and looked me over. "McDonald?" Someone finally asked.

Nodding, I made a face. "Yeah. You know, Old McDonald had a farm…. Come on, I thought that one was good!"

A few people laughed, while others rolled their eyes. "Rick is." Mom two muttered, but looked doubtful..

"What the hell?" I asked Daryl as Officer, McDonald walking up with two Walkers on poles.

"I don't know." Daryl muttered, grabbing the gun that Scowl had given him earlier. For some reason he felt everyone needed to be armed again, even though McDonald didn't want us to. Freaked me out, but I got a new gun, 9 mm semi automatic, to go with my magazines I found in my black bag. A win, since I wasn't too fond of the revolver.

"What is going on?" Scowl yelled out as the two men dragged the Walkers along, like stray dogs.

"Found 'em down by the river. Caught in the mud." Officer muttered, while McDonald just kept moving towards the barn. Damn, was he adding more?

"They aren't people!" Scowl yelled, and I saw this not going anywhere good.

"They're sick!" McDonald yelled back, struggling with the woman he was leading.

"Oh really?" Scowl lifted his gun and started to shoot the Walker, not hitting her head. "Would a person keep coming after that?" He shot her a few more times.

"Shane, stop it!" Officer growled, struggling with the man he was controlling.

"Fine." He walked up to the woman and shot her in the head, point blank. She fell to the ground, and McDonald let go of it, fell to his knees and just stared at it.

Then, Scowl made a dash for the barn. He started banging on it, then pulled off the lock on it, jumping away from it as the door cracked open.

"Damn it!" I growled, pulling out my gun and stepping next to Daryl and he loaded and raised his. Daryl took down the first Walker, and I saw that Blondie, the black man, Asian, and Scowl joined the firing line.

Officer was yelling at McDonald to take the Walker in his hands, and then I heard a thump. Guess someone shot that one too.

We kept shooting, Walker after Walker, round after round. Damn, Asian wasn't joking when he said it was full of Walkers. There couldn't be less than a dozen, and all of them were falling to the ground.

Lowering my gun, I let out a sigh of relief when I realized no more were coming out. "My god…" I whispered, the full amount of Walkers finally hit me. I could hear McDonald's daughters crying behind me. All I wanted to do was put a bullet in Scowl. We didn't need to have this mass killing without him. And what happened yesterday. That wasn't ever going to die.

Suddenly I heard more moaning, and turned, gun raised. Except, I knew something was wrong. It was a soft moaning, of a child. "Please god no…" I whispered before the figure came into view.

There she was, same clothes as when she ran off that day. Her blonde hair was dirty, and her skin was graying. A large bite showed on her neck, and she growled softly as she started to shuffle over the unmoving Walkers.

"Sophia?" Mom one's voice echoed the pain I was feeling. My gun dropped to my side as I started to blink back tears. I saw her out of the side of my vision as she started to run towards her daughter. Daryl wrapped an arm around her and lowered her to the ground, stopping her in her tracks.

I couldn't breath. Gasping for air in short, choppy breaths, I turned, and started to run off.

The gunshot echoed in my ears, but I didn't stop. I didn't slow when the tears started to flow, and I didn't stop when I realized I didn't know where the hell I was. I kept running. Running from the pain, running from the sorrow. But mostly, I was running from the fact that I failed Lucy and Sophia.

**A:N/ Sorry it's short, but the last one was long, so it evens out. I meant for her to learn Sophia's name earlier, but I couldn't work it in, so it was a good foreshadower. Sorry guys! I love Sophia and if I had a choice, she would have been found by our redneck and everyone would be happy. Of course, I don't get to change the plot too much over what's already happened so… : (**

**Question of the day:**

**What is your dream weapon for the apocalypse?**


	12. Chapter 12

Shovel down, step onto it, tilt back, pick up dirt, tip into pile. Repeat.

That's all that went through my mind as I dug the graves. I didn't think about who was about to go into these graves, or even how many we were supposed to dig. All I thought about was the action of digging. I already had one grave dug, and working on my second one.

A few people had come up to talk to me, but I ignored all of them. I was in no mood to talk. If I was about to, I'd surely just yell at them. No, I just clenched my jaw and dug until they walked awake.

The Georgia sun beat down on me, and my Pitt T-shirt was nearly completely covered in sweat. With sleeves rolled up, I could feel a sting on my arms and face. I was surely burned by now.

A hand was placed on my shoulder and I quickly jerked it away, not even bothering to look at who it was. I simply continued to shovel, panting as I did so.

While moving down to dig another scoop of dirt, a hand wrapped around the shovel and pulled it from my grasp.

"Just let me do something I can actually do." I growled out, finally looking at who it was stopping me. Who else would it be?

"Yer doin' what Jim was doin'. Ya need to stop an' rest." He mumbled, but I saw he was hurting as much as I was.

"Fine." I crossed my arms and turned to storm off. But his hand caught my shoulder.

"What the fuck is wrong wit you?"

Turning around, I got right into his face. "Sophia is fucking dead, Daryl! Or did you happen to miss that?" I threw my arms up and turned, too pissed to meet his eyes. "You made me learn her fucking name! You made me care! You made me realize how much she was like Lucy." I blinked back more tears. "You made me realize that I failed again."

"Becca…" He reached out to rest his hand on my shoulder, but I pulled away.

"No!" Turning, I glared at him. "How dare you bring someone into my life, make me care about her when you knew there was a _chance _that she might not come back!" Closing my eyes I shook my head. "Five. I can't believe it's up to five." Then turned and walked off.

"What do ya mean five?" He called after me, but I just shook my head and kept walking.

Standing around the graves, I clutched Lucy's bag in my hands tightly. I had looked through it again and re-found her necklace. Back in the RV the first time, I didn't think about it. Now, I wore it around my neck, letting the grief and guilt that came with it engulf me like flames. I deserved to hurt.

We were ready to put everyone into their graves. Everyone was there, circling the graves that I helped to dig. There was no denying it now. These weren't just holes, they were graves for our loved ones.

I noticed the Daryl and mom one were missing. Looking around, I saw everyone's gazes were split. One eye on the bodies and graves, one on the RV. Guess that's where the missing two were. Of course, Daryl seemed to gravitate towards her. Figures.

He slipped out of the RV, seemly fuming mad. He shook his head, giving everyone but me a signal for something, something that I didn't understand. Moving over the group, he ducked his head, eyes landing on the body of Sophia. I saw him sniffle and quickly swipe at his eyes. He didn't want anyone to see, but I did.

Swallowing my pride, I walked over to him and leaned my shoulder against him. "Red?"

"Don't talk to me. I'm still pissed at you, more than you can know." My hand flew up and twisted around the necklace, while the other clutched onto Lucy's bag like it might crumble in my hands.

His hand reached out and brushed against the one that clutched the bag, but then dropped it back to his side, showing he got it. Maybe he didn't understand the utter hurt I felt, but he did get that I was hurting. He was too.

Mom one didn't come out as we buried her daughter, causing more anger to bubble up within me. My mother didn't get to see Lucy's funeral. How could she just brush this off as if it was nothing?

The bodies were lowered, goodbyes were said, then the holes were closed.

Turning, I blinked back a few tears, angrily swiping at any that dared slip down my cheeks.

No one came up behind me, and I was pleased by that. Okay, actually that was bull. I needed to apologize to Daryl for being such a bitch, but I couldn't. The anger inside of me doubled at the thought of Sophia, slipping out of the bar, a fucking Walker. I couldn't do it.

Getting back to the group HQ, I started to fidget. There would be only one thing that would calm me. I knew it, but I had to figure out how I was about to do it.

I couldn't do it at night. That's when Gramps was out on the prowl. The moment Daryl got back I was screwed, and Asian had been keeping an eye on me lately.

I had to do it now. The rest were still at the graves, closing them up and laying down flowers. I could do this.

Moving over to Daryl's truck, I pulled down the tailgate and jumped up. Looking around, I didn't catch see anyone near by. Good.

Pushing the bike to the edge of the tailgate, I jumped down and pulled it down. It was a hell of a lot heavier than I anticipated it to be. I noticed that there weren't any keys in the ignition. Shit.

Running up to the cab of the truck, I slid in and opened the glove compartment and started to fish through it. Inside I found the usual crap, a pair of keys, and a small burlap bag. Ignoring the bag, I grabbed the keys and darted back to the bike.

Hoping on the bike, I put the keys in the ignition but didn't dare turn it on. I checked my weapons and started to walk towards the road, pushing the bike along the way. As a last thought, I stopped and looked at the truck. It was covered in a thin layer of dirt…perfect.

_I'll be back later. _I used my pointer finger on my write hand to inscribe the message on the side, then started to push the bike a little farther. I realized it wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be, so, checking no one was near me, I turned on the bike, feeling the engine roar to life beneath me. If I left soon enough, no one would be able to track me.

Looking back one last time (hey, can't help being paranoid in this world), I caught mom one looking at me through the window of the RV. Putting my finger to my lips, I made a _Shhh_ motion, then sped up the drive, getting to the highway.

The rumble of the bike beneath me was continuous, always there, steady. Something I've craved for a while. I just hoped it would have come from a person, not a bucket of bolts.

The sky was beautiful. Bright blue, a few bright white, puffy clouds spotted it. I had one arm tucked under my head, and the other pointed up, tracing the shape of the clouds as I tried to figure out the shapes.

"Look at that one! Looks like a bunny to me…" I smiled to myself and traced the lines that looked like ears. Clearly a bunny. "There's a…flower." I traced the one next to it and chuckled. "Yeah…maybe not."

I had lost it. Full blown lost it. Running my hand over the grass, I could feel the change from soft grass to cool dirt without having to look.

"Lucy, I miss you." I whispered, looking over at the burial plot.

Sighing, I sat up, looking down at the rectangle of dirt. "This isn't right…"

Standing up, I started to look around. Our father was a preacher. He buried lots of people, and there were two things he always said they needed, neither of which she said. Terrible.

Walking over to the trees, I started to look for what I wanted. Finding two sticks on the ground, I gathered them and hastily made my way back towards the clearing. They were both fairly large, probably two feet long, and about as thick as my arm. Perfect.

Sitting down again, I put the shorter of the two, which was only slightly shorter, on the ground, and pulled my knife out of my holster. This was the knife I found in the black bag. When I went back to try to find mine, I couldn't locate it from where Scowl had thrown it. Another thing to thank Mari for.

I made quick work of the wildling of the wood, carving back the bark to expose the lighter wood encased within it. I copied the method with the other branch, except with this branch I flattened one side. Running my hand over it, I smiled at how smooth it was. Soothing almost.

Since the one side was flat, I put it down on the ground. Holding it still with my left hand, I started to carve into it with my knife. L-U-C-Y. Except it wasn't dark enough, wasn't very readable.

"I'll be right back." I kept my knife out and ran down the hill towards where we used to camp. Moving over to the fire pit, I started to sift through it. I found what I wanted and ran back up the hill.

By this point, I'm drenched in sweat, gasping for air, and ready to just fall over and go to sleep. No, I had to finish this.

Pulling myself to the wood, I traced the letters with the coal in my hand. Perfect.

Putting the wood with the name over the other branch, I created a cross and looked around, trying to figure out how to attach the on branch to the other. Putting the bag onto the ground, I pulled out Lucy's socks.

Using my knife, I carefully cut around the elastic of the sock, but then started to cut at an angle, continuing the cut until the whole sock was cut into a half inch thick strip. Carefully, I wrapped the strip over the cross, creating a small white x between the U and the C. Giving the top branch a slight pull, I made sure it didn't move.

Looking up at the sky, I shrugged uncomfortably in the heat. I made a crude point on the end of the cross, then with all of my strength drove it into the earth. It stood up straight.

So there was the first thing my father said we needed. A tombstone. This was close enough. Now I needed to get the second item: flowers.

Standing, I stretched and holstered my knife. My clothes clung tightly to my skin, making me feel sticky and hot. I wanted to go back. My eyes flew over to the bike parked in the meadow. I could just leave, go back, change clothes. No, I had to do this.

Shouldering the bag, I moved to the edge of the hill, looking around for some sort of flower, hopefully yellow. Lucy loves the color yellow. Smiling to myself, I took a step forward, spotting a patch of something white.

"Ughhhh…." The moan came from behind me, and I let out a yelp, pulling at my knife.

"UGHHHHH!" It seemed to yell as it lunged for me. It's arms grabbed my shoulders, face inches from mine. I couldn't cipher if it was a boy or girl, nor did I care. The smell of rotting flesh hit my nose and I struggled to not loose my breakfast then and there.

Finally, I was able to pull my knife from the holster and thrust it through the creeps eye. "Son of a bitch!"

Pulling my knife out, the limp figure fell on me.

The shear weight of the creature took me by surprise. I wasn't able to keep my footing, and started to fall, head over heals, down the hill. My head bounced off of rocks and fallen branches.

My body ricocheted off of four trees, by my count, and I started gasping in pain and need for air which my lungs didn't allow me to gather. The Walker's body must not have fallen with me, because the only thing I felt was dirt, rocks, and trees.

At the bottom of hill, my head made contact with one last boulder, and I landed on something sharp. It dug into my side, and I could feel blood seeping from it. The bite of the object was intense. Glass maybe?

Lifting my head to check, the world began to spin, and I lost control of my body. Head landing on dirt, I watched as the trees above me spun, darkness fighting against me. My whole body ached. My head felt like it had been beaten with a hammer, and the rest of my body was going numb. Finally, I accepted the pain, and let it overtake me, slipping into darkness.

"_Who are they?" Lucy asked from behind me. My eyes did an instant swivel, trying to locate who she was talking about. Was it one of the undead?_

"_Where?" I asked, only seeing the endless seas of cars. _

"_There! At the blue car." Yeah, 'cause that really narrowed them down._

_Pulling over the car, I looked back. "Which one?" I tried not to snap, but I was at my wits end. Mother had completely shut down since I had to put down Henry, not saying a word, just staring out the window. I haven't had sleep in who knows how long, and add on top of that the fact that the world has ultimately ended, I felt I had a right to snap. But not at Lucy._

_She sighed and stuck her hand forward, past my face, pointing out the window._

_Following her hand, I saw the car she was talking about. Actually, it was a van. It was dark blue, and one of the doors were open. Inside sat at least five people by what I could see, possibly more._

_Watching them, I also noticed that the cars near the blue can, which varied in sizes and colors, were put into a circle, leaving a large gap in the middle, where I swear I saw a few more heads, and even flickering. Fire?_

"_Stay in the car." I ordered Lucy, then pulled out my knife and handed it to her. "You know how to use this, right?"_

_She looked at me, then the knife. "Can't Mommy use it?"_

_Looking over at my mother, I shook my head. "No, sweetheart. You need to. Do you know how to use it?"_

_She nodded slow and sighed. "Yeah…"_

"_Okay. Only use it if one of those things come after you. Yell if you need me." I leaned forward and gently kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be right back, I swear."_

_Getting out of the car, I locked the door and closed it behind me. Pulling my gun out, I checked that it was loaded and put it into my waistband. Taking a calming breath, I moved towards the circle of cars._

"_Who's there?" A deep voice called out, thick with a southern accent. As he called out, three figures moved into the van, two moved out, and the door was promptly shut. Three men stood in front of me, each with a gun pointed at me. Surely loaded._

"_Are you a No Soul?" The smallest of the men asked. He appeared to be a few years younger than me, probably around fifteen or sixteen. I didn't miss how his gun quivered as he shook. I just hoped his trigger finger was more steady._

"_I don't know what that is." I muttered, but held my hands in the air, not moving. Everyone in the van were ducking down, these men seemed to be the guards. Seemed like a smart set up to me._

_They all let out a slight sigh of relief something…something I couldn't figure out. Their guns didn't lower though._

"_Ya bit?" A man with a shotgun asked. His voice sounded the same as the one who asked who was there. Guess it was the same guy._

"_No, but we need help." I kept my hands in the air, but I realized that the youngest boy lowered his gun ever so slightly. He didn't know what to do._

"_We?" A different man, with a softer southern accent, asked._

_Nodding, I jerked my thumb towards the car. "Me, my sister, and my mother." _

"_They bit?" The younger man asked, lowering his gun right away, earning him glares from the other two._

"_No. Not scratched either…" I swallowed, imagining my father, Brian, and Henry. No, I needed to stay strong._

_They looked at each other, and lowered their guns. "Al'ight. Brin' 'em 'ere. We've got 'nough supplies fer one night." He tilted his head towards the van. "How old da girl?"_

"_Nine." _

_He nodded and sighed. "Got some 'round dat age."_

_Turning, I moved over to the car, and tapped on the window until Lucy unlocked the door._

_She quickly did, and I opened the door. "They're going to let us stay with them for the night. We'll see how it goes from there."_

"_Can we trust them?" She asked, clearly concerned. _

"_I hope so…" My father always taught me to trust people unless they gave me reason to otherwise. Guess that wouldn't work in this new world._

_She nodded, and handed me back the knife, and got out of the car. "Come on Mommy!"_

_Mother slid out of the car and followed us, completely zoned out. Guess she wouldn't be much help to us._

"_Come on sweetheart." I grabbed Lucy's hand and led her towards the group._

**A/N: Like it? Hate it? Let me know! I had a completely different idea for this chapter, but I decided that I didn't want it to go that way. As a result, this happened. Hope y'all loved it!**

**Question of the day:**

**You're in the apocalypse. What would you miss most?**


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: Dang, tough crowd. I would have thought that giving you the power to kill someone would have gotten me reviews faster. It's okay. Now that we made it to 60 here's my question…it's a big deal…**_

_**Do you think Andrea should be saved, or end up running in the woods like in the show?**_

**And sorry for the late update. I left town and forgot my laptop. Sorry! **

Eyes flicking open, I groaned and clamped my jaw shut, stopping any cry of pain before it slipped out.

I was still on the forest floor, looking at the sky between branches. But, instead of the bright blue sky I saw before, now I saw a dark sky dotted with stars that would have warmed my heart back at home, but not now. Now it just let me know that so many hours had passed, I was still alone in the woods, in agonizing pain, and that Walkers would be on the prowl.

Damn, what I wouldn't give to have a cell phone. I couldn't just lay here, not anymore. No, I had to get up, get to the bike, and had to get back to the group. Damn it, why had I been so dumb? If I would have just swallowed my anger, I wouldn't be stuck here right now.

As I tried to move, pain rippled through my body. Slowly, I inched my way down to my bag, and gripped it with my left hand, then used my knife, still firmly in my right hand, to cut the strap off. Slipping the knife back into place, I put the strap into my mouth, and bit down hard.

Okay, I could do this. Suck it up now, fix it later, what Brian used to always say. But he meant a small cut or a broken finger. Probably not nearly falling to your death.

Clamping my jaw, I slowly stood, using a nearby tree for support. The pain was incredible, and I was on the brink of falling unconscious again. No, I needed to get my ass up and moving. Hell, Daryl got back after being impaled by his own arrow. I could do this.

Pain ripped through me, and I ground my teeth into the strap. Looking at my side, I saw that I had lost quiet a lot of blood. Shit, might as well have raw meat wrapped around me.

Lifting my shirt up slowly, I saw a large shard of green glass in my side. What fucking asshole threw a glass beer bottle into the woods? Oh, that's right. This is redneck country. Probably everyone did.

I had to make a decision. Pull out the shard or leave it in. I was tempted to just leave it in, but then that ran the chance of me bumping my side and shoving it deeper. Nope, I had to pull it out. Damn, I so didn't want to do any of this! Why hadn't I told at least one person where I was going?

Gingerly, I pulled my Pitt T-shirt over my head and looked down. Great, drenched in sweat, and the chill was starting to set over me. My once white tank top was now soaked with blood on my left side, torn where the green glass was.

Grinding my teeth again, I gripped the glass in my hand, and pulled out of my flesh, as straight as I could as to not do any further damage. A muffled scream of pain ripped through my throat, but I knew it wasn't anything too loud, thanks to the strap.

The pain subsided almost instantly, but the throb was enough to drive me nuts. I quickly wrapped my Pitt shirt around the cut, pulling it tight to slow the blood flow.

_You can do this, Becca. What is the next problem in the way? _My father's voice filled my head. Always the reasonable one. I would run off without thinking anything through, while he would pull me back to get me think about everything that could happen.

Next problem…the big ass hill I had to climb. I think I broke a rib or two, so every breath hurt. But other than that, my legs were badly bruised but didn't feel broken. So I just needed a little help.

Looking in a circle around me slowly, I tried to figure out what I could use. There was a branch on the ground, and grabbing it, painfully, I looked it over. It was a little too long for a proper walking stick, but hell, I'd take what I could get.

Alright, I was still bleeding, but it was slowing. I have a walking stick to help me some. What else did I need?

It was dark, and I needed some way to see. Pulling the bag, now with only one strap, off my shoulder, I pulled out the flashlight and put the bag back on my back. Flicking it on, I held it firmly in my left hand, walking stick in my right. Alright, I could do this.

Putting the stick a foot in front of me, bit down, and used my left hand to help pull me towards the stick. Pain ripped through me, but I knew if I stopped, I was a good as dead.

_You can do this. _Henry this time, cheering me on. I couldn't stop, I had to keep going.

Stick, bite, step, grind. Stick, bite, step, grind.

I kept the loop going, inching my way up the hill, making sure to take it at an angle. Yeah it took longer, but there was now way in hell I would be able to take it straight up.

I have no idea how long it took me to get up that god damn hill. It felt like at least five hours of excruciating pain, but by the look of the sky, it was more likely two. Still, I felt the tears sliding down my face, and teeth on teeth. I bit all the way through that damn strap.

At the top of the hill, I fought the urge to cry more. No one was there. Damn, how I wished someone had been up there, waiting for me with a car, first aid kits, and food. But no, I was alone. Of course I was. They all probably thought I just up and left…it would be something I would do.

Hobbling over to the bike, I made my last attempt to stay alive. There was no way in hell I would be able to do anything else to save myself.

Getting to the bike, I tried to throw my leg over the seat, but couldn't even get it farther than a few inches from the ground. No go on that. Damn.

Sinking down, I pressed my back against the bike and pulled the strap out of my mouth, moving my jaw some to try to get the stiff feeling out of it. My mouth was killing me by now. Hell, everything but my hair was killing me, and I was about ready to just pull that out all together.

Reaching behind me, I hissed as I pulled the gun out of my waistband, pulled the slide back, and rested it on my lap. Now, all that was left to do was wait for the sun to rise.

The sun had risen a little bit ago, but it was only partly over the horizon. I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, completely terrified of a herd attacking, or even just a lone Walker.

By this point, I was loosing it. Every part of me was in complete and utter pain, but I felt the stickiness on my side. Blood had slowly seeped through my tank, then my Pitt shirt. My mouth was dry, and I felt my stomach rumble. Losing blood, dehydrated, and starving. I was _screwed._

I heard noise behind me, and I tensed, gripping the gun in both hands to get it to stop shaking. The noises were from far off, probably still a bit before the meadows edge, not in view of the bike.

"I say we let her go. She wanted to leave, let her leave!" I knew that spiteful voice…Scowl. But that meant there must be others, he wouldn't be out here himself. I wanted to jump up and scream, but I couldn't more…or make a sound. Damn it!

"She ain't jus' up and leave." Daryl. Thank god, maybe he would find me. Hell, I basically left a blood trail…but in the different direction than they were coming from. I nibbled on my lip, hoping they'd find me. I tried to lift my arm to at least bang the walking stick. To my dismay and horror, my arm didn't even twitch.

"Shane might be right. She hasn't seemed very happy to be with the group currently." Officer no…don't give up on me. I'm right here!

"Fine, y'all wanna leave, leave! I jus' gotta check 'er sis's grave…" Thank god. I could just see the grave from the corner of my eye.

"Why do ya want to find her so bad?" Scowl.

There was a pause, and I felt my heart stop. What was he going to say?

"She took my bike." He didn't sound so sure, but you know what, too bad. I knew that wasn't why he was looking for me. Still stung that he couldn't say it was because he cared for me in some slight way. Well, it would sting if there was anything left to sting.

"Bull." Thank you Officer! "Come on, let's finish lookin'."

There was some trudging, and I heard twigs snapping behind me. No way that was from Daryl's doing….probably Scowl's, just to piss him off.

"What is that?" Officer.

"The bike…Where the hell is she?" Daryl hissed out, and I could almost hear him running his hand over his face in distress.

_Over here! She's behind the bike! Come on, look for her! She's so close! _I must be loosing it, because that last voice was Lucy's, almost like she was calling from her grave to help me.

With one last ditch effort, I leaned back as hard as I could into the bike, but then leaned to my right, landing in the dirt. The bike fell with a thud, and I laid there, crying out in pain. With nothing to muffle it, it was really loud. Louder than when Lucy got bit, or when Henry. Hell, it probably sounded like I was in mid change.

"Becca?" Daryl spotted me first, and I heard the footsteps speed up to me. His shoes flashed in front of my face, then my eyes clamped closed. Everything hurt. All I wanted to do was slip into the darkness, to leave the pain behind. Now that I knew people were here, I could do it. I wouldn't die, not with these men watching over me.

"Rick! Get some water!" Daryl called over my body, and I felt his rough hand ghost over my cheeks quickly, then pulled back when I winced.

There was shuffling, then a round object was put to my lips. Cool liquid brushed against my lips, and I cracked them, drinking it slowly, letting it cool my burning throat. When it was pulled back, I was able to talk. Cracking my eyes, I looked at the blue ones, nearly hovering over my face.

"'Bout god damn time." I croaked out, then smiled slightly.

"Fuckin' crazy bitch! Are ya trying to get yerself killed?" He hissed at me.

When I tried to shake my head, I let out a cry of pain. He clamped his hands on both of my cheeks, holding my neck still. "I just wanted to get her some flowers." Damn, I did sound like a bitch.

"What?" He shook his head and sighed. "Nermind. What the fuck did ya do?" Thank god he was whispering, my head was pounding. Probably concussion. Who would have thought I'd get fucked up by a hill in a zombie apocalypse?

"Fall down that damn hill." I winced and tried to loosen my muscles, trying not to squirm under Daryl's gaze.

"Dumb ass!" Scowl yelled at me as he hovered by the side of the bike. I winced and closed my eyes. He was yelling on fucking purpose.

"Shut up, jackass." Daryl muttered at him, then looked back down at me, then Rick. "Bring the car up here."

There was just quiet, and opening my eyes I peeked at him.

"How did you know?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Where the hell else would ya go?" Good point.

There was rumbling, a sound I was growing familiar with. The sound of Daryl's beat up old truck. Thank god.

"I'm gonna have at pick ya up." He whispered, and I swallowed thickly. This was gonna hurt.

His arms slipped under my knees, and another around my shoulders. I bit down hard, whimpering out in pain. He held me against his chest, and I grabbed a wad of his shirt in my fist, fighting back a scream. I didn't want to bring any attention to us from Walkers.

Scowl walked up to me and took the gun from my hand, slid into his waistband, then moved over to the bike. Jumping onto it, he brought it to life, way to loud for my liking. I buried my face in Daryl's shirt, whimpering again. It hurt so bad.

Carefully, Daryl slid into the bed of the truck, and kept his grip on me. "Y'all be okay." He muttered as we started to slowly move, Officer surely behind the wheel.

I just whimpered in response, waiting for the pain to end.

"Thanks." I whispered, throat raw.

McDonald nodded, closing his medical bag. Standing, he moved towards the door. "I'll be back to check on ya soon. Stay in bed, don't stress yourself." With that he left.

Groaning, I pulled myself into a seated position, trying to get comfortable. God I was a train wreck. Seven stitches in the side, bandage all around my abdomen, bruises covering most of my body, and enough painkillers in my system to subside the pain from the concussion and severely bruised ribs, thankfully none broken. The vet also took out the old stitches in my leg, which were long due to be out. The scar was long and choppy, but didn't really matter in the scheme of things.

I heard soft footsteps moving towards me from the hall, and I figured it was either Daryl or one of the mothers. Pulling the sheet up farther, I tried to hide my scantily clothed body; sports bra and shorts.

"So, doc said ya ain't gonna die." Daryl.

"Nahh, can't get rid of me that easily, Crossbow." I smiled weakly and sighed. I didn't want to be stuck in this god damn bed. Not like I had any choice in the matter, but still. I needed to get stuff done before the winter hit us full one. One of those thing was going to town to get a tent.

"Ya sure did come close." He nearly growled out, shaking his head as if scolding a small child.

"We should probably talk, huh?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Do I look like someone who likes to talk?"

"Do _I _look like someone who likes falling down a hill, then ending up stuck in a fucking bed? No, but I don't get a choice on it. If ya don't want to talk, then fine." I shrugged and pulled my knees to my chest, letting out a slight wince. "Can you at least give me a book or something?"

"Where the hell am I supposed to get a book?"

"Forget it." I wasn't in the mood, and I felt lightheaded again. "I'm just going to get some sleep." I haven't had sleep since I fell down the hill, and that wasn't sleep, I was unconscious.

Laying down on my side, I let out a hiss of air as pain hit me, then curled into a ball, rearranging the blanket to keep my skin hidden.

Closing my eyes, I heard shuffling, and struggled to hide my smile as I heard a chair squeak. He was sitting there, watching me. Maybe he was my protector.

_**A/N: Sorry it's short again, but I'm gonna jump the time line a little next chapter, and I couldn't really do it now without it being confusing. So…yeah, hope you like it. I got a review that asked me to not follow the story line too closely, because then there's no surprises. So….I'm trying to loosely follow it, but I'm not going to follow it to a T. Here's the thing. October is a LONG way away, so once the Walkers attack the farm and they leave…it's a free for all for me. So hang in there until then. I'm going to try to get there quickly, because a lot of the other stuff isn't too important in my mind. Obviously some stuff will still work, but not all of it. Please review and tell me what you think!**_

_**Question of the day:**_

_**Do you like it when Rick goes all bad ass in the last episode of the season?**_


	14. Chapter 14

"Come on, I need to at least get up and walk. My head feels fine. It's my legs that are killing me from no use." This was ridiculous. I was begging with McDonald. My head did feel better, my bruises had faded quiet a lot, and my ribs felt better. I needed to get out of this damn bed.

"No." Daryl muttered from the corner, where he had taken up staying since I was put on bed rest. "Ya could get hurt."

"I don't think you're the doctor." I shot back.

"Neither is he. He's a vet." He raised an eyebrow, pointing an arrow, my bad, bolt (he's given me the entire training course with his damn crossbow since I've been stuck here) he had been cleaning.

"Can I get up or not?" So far, the only time I've gotten out of this bed was to go to the bathroom, and that usually ended up basically being dragged by Mom's one and two.

"I don't see why not. Don't go running off or anything, but if ya take it easy." He nodded, glanced at the fuming mad Daryl, then promptly left. Smart man.

"'Bout damn time." I groaned, and threw my legs over the side of the bed. "I gotta change." I was still in the bra and shorts the Mom's put me in when I got back to camp so I could be looked over better.

"Ya shouldn't be getting up." He grumbled, but walked out the door, weapon slung over his back.

Slowly shuffling over to my bags in the corner, which were brought in a few days ago, I started to sift through the one that holds all of my clothes. I settled on a pair of skinny jeans and a loose fitting pink and white striped long sleeve shirt. It was getting colder out, and I realized how few clothes I had for the coming winter. How long would it be before I was allowed to go on a scouting trip to town? There was so much we needed, especially if McDonald still wanted us out.

Stretching, I tried to figure out my limits. I could do pretty much everything but bend over. Okay, that was good.

Opening the door, I wasn't surprised to see Daryl standing there. "So, now that I can actually walk, will ya tell me what's been going on?" He made sure no one told me what was going on with the group, knowing that I would probably try to get up and help. As far as I knew, nothing had changed since Sophia's funeral.

He just shrugged and moved to the side so I could take the stairs first. Shuffling down the stairs, I saw the mothers in the kitchen. "Hey."

They turned, faces lighting up when they saw I was actually standing on my own. "Becca!" They ran forward, and gingerly pulled me into a hug. My heart sunk.

Turning to Daryl, I tried to swallow my anger. "You told them?"

He just shrugged, but didn't meet my eyes. "Well, he called our your name when he found you. Rick told us." Mom two.

"Please, just call me Red…" Too many bad things from Becca.

"But…why?" Mom one.

Oh I so didn't want to go down this road. Instead, I grabbed a water bottle off the counter, took a sip to calm myself, they looked them over. "So what's happened since I've been out of commission?"

They weren't pleased that I didn't explain my crazy reasoning, but they knew better than to push it. They just shrugged, eyes jumping to Daryl.

"We have a prisoner." Mom two. Good, she always was the one with a backbone. Maybe it was because the leader of the group was her hubby.

"Who?" I didn't think most members of the group would allow that, especially not Officer.

"Boy named Randall. His group tried to kill Rick and Shane. He got hurt, Hershel fixed him up though. Boys went to take him a few miles out." She shrugged and went back to the food she was fixing.

"So, we're just going to let him a few miles out and hope he doesn't come back?" Didn't sound too smart. But better than killing someone.

"Yeah…" Mom one. She didn't seem to like it too much.

"How long 'till they're back?"

"Should be any minute now." Mom two looked out the window, waiting for Officer surely.

Nodding, I started to nibble on my bottom lip and sighed. "Alright." I walked towards the door, noticing how Daryl fell into step behind me.

Getting outside, I drew in a long breath of air. _Fresh _air. Thank god.

"Becca!" Damn it!

"Nah, I'm still Red." I nodded slightly towards Old Man.

"Alright…" He seemed skeptical but just held his smile.

"How's everything looking?" He was like a guard dog, always on the prowl. He was a pretty cool guy. Reminded me of my father.

"Good." His head jerked to the side and he raised his binoculars, checking the horizon. "Looks like they're back."

I stood up taller, preparing for the group to come back. A figure moved up next to me, and I didn't have to look to figure out who it was. Always my shadow.

The car pulled up and stopped, but by Daryl's reaction, I knew something wasn't right. Officer slid out of the car, followed by Scowl. Then some other man. Shit, that must be the prisoner.

"What the hell is he doin' back?" Daryl growled out, and I looked between him and the new guy.

"He knows Maggie."

"So?" So confused.

"He knows where the farm is. This whole time we made sure to not let him know the location. But he already knows." Officer shoved the figure towards the barn. "We're keepin' him in here until we figure what to do."

I watched as the barn door pulled open, the figure was pushed in, and then the door was closed behind Officer and the boy. Scowl stood guard.

"We're gonna need to figure out what to do." I really didn't want to have some guy who tried to kill our men to be staying in the barn.

"Agreed." Old Man shrugged and started down the ladder on the RV. "Let's go."

We moved towards the house, and I watched as Officer moved out of the barn, putting what looked like a lock on it.

Everyone seemed to realize what was going on, and started to trickle towards the house.

Getting into the living room, I leaned against the wall, Daryl took the door jam near my spot.

"So, what are we going to do with Randall?" Blondie started the ball rolling.

"We do the only thing we can do." Scowl.

"And what is that exactly?"

"We can't just let him go. He knows where the barn is."

I quickly shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "We can't just kill him. Then we won't be any better than him."

Scowl scoffed, shaking his head. "I thought you'd be the one person who would agree."

"Just because I'm a bitch doesn't mean I think we should just go off and kill people!" Hunched over, and ground me teeth, pissed. "Enough god damn blood has already been spilled."

"I agree with Shane." Officer. What the fuck happened there?

"We can't just kill the poor kid!" Old Man.

"We should figure out how much of a threat he is." Mom two. Okay, that could be a good idea.

"How would we do that?" Mom one.

"Some of us can be very persuasive." Scowl's eyes flickered to Daryl.

Standing up straighter, I pushed off the wall. "Why does he have to do everything?" He shouldn't have to have that blood on his hands. Shouldn't have to carry around that guilt.

He shrugged. "Scariest."

"It's fine." Daryl stood up and tilted his head from side to side. "When should we do this."

I felt sick. I can't believe this was really happening.

"Now's as good a time as any." Officer. He walked out into the yard, followed by Scowl and Daryl. Daryl gave me one quick glance before he walked off.

"This is fucked up." I shook my head and stormed into the kitchen, needing something to do to get my mind off of this.

"Becca!"

"Asian…" I sighed out, giving him a warning.

"Sorry, we back to Red?"

"Never left it." I leaned against the RV, keeping one eye on the barn. "What's up?" "I got my nickname."

At least he could add some humor to such a depressing time. "Oh really? And what is that?"

"Stud." He smirked, sticking his chest out slightly.

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "And why is that?" No way in hell I was calling him Stud.

"Maggie seems to think so." He cocked an eyebrow.

"Damn boy! Are you getting laid?"

I could see pink get to his cheeks, and I shook my head. "Leave it to ya to get laid in an apocalypse."

"So, is that my new name?"

I pushed his shoulder slightly and rolled my eyes. "I told you to use the power wisely. And you didn't. So…no. But you do need a new one."

He nodded. "Please."

I hit the brim of his ever present baseball cap. "How about Ball Cap."

"Well damn." He chuckled and shook his head. "Guess it's better than Asian. Can't blame me for trying though."

Turning, I looked back at the barn. "They've been in there for a while."

"You okay?"

"Just hate it that Daryl has to be the one to do all the heavy lifting."

The door opened and Daryl walked out, followed by the others. He met my eyes, but I quickly looked away. I can't believe he agreed to do this.

"T-Dog. Keep watch!" Officer yelled out, while the black man ran up to the door, holding a gun firmly in his hand and he leaned against the locked barn door.

They moved towards the house, and Ball Cap nudged me, signaling for us to follow. Everyone else seemed to as well.

Getting into the house, I took the same spot I had before, except this time it was Ball Cap who stood next to me, not Daryl.

"He's a rapist." Damn, Daryl didn't seem to have a problem getting everything out into the open.

"What?" This caught my attention.

"He said that he was made to watch, but I doubt that's all he did." Officer.

A shiver rippled over me. "What the fuck are we going to do with this creep?"

"Red, I thought you didn't want to kill him." Old Man.

"Didn't say I did. But he shouldn't be around here. Do you see how many girl there are around here?" I threw my hands out, adding to my point.

"Why can't we just let him go?" Old Man.

"He knows where the farm is." Officer.

"What about you. You can't be okay with this." Old Man pointed towards Mom one. She shook her head.

"I don't want him here, but I don't know what idea is best."

"Not talking out is just as bad as killing him yourself!" Damn, never seen Old Man mad before. "What about you, Glenn?"

Ball Cap looked almost as white as me. He was scared. "I-I don't think we can just let him walk…."

"Glenn!" He threw his hands up, shook his head, and moved towards the door. "I can't believe you all are going to kill another human being." He shook his head again, then left.

"So, what are we going to do?" Blondie.

"Put him down. In the barn." Officer.

"Let's do it." Scowl walked towards the door, Officer following, and the rest dispersed, some happy with the plan, others not so much.

I grabbed Daryl, making him stop. "You can't be okay with this." I whispered, trying to get him to see reason.

"So yer fine wit a rapist wonderin' 'round?" He hissed back.

"No! I don't think he should die though." My grip on his arm tightened slightly. "But you really don't need to be out there."

"Why does it matter?" His blues eyes darted back and forth, struggling to keep up with my reasoning.

"Because you already beat him up. You have that already on your mind. You don't have to take his life on top of that." Now I was begging again.

"Becca…"

"No. Please. Just do this for me."

His eyes looked out the door, then back to me. "Fine." He relaxed a little, eyes locked on mine.

Dropping my hand, I nodded. "Good."

"He didn't kill him." Scowl growled out, reappearing from the barn.

We were all sitting around the fire. A weak fire was our source of meeting. Few sat on fold out chairs, like Mom one and Blondie, but most of us sat on logs. In the dimming light, I was glad to have Ball Cap to my left and Daryl to my right.

When Scowl came out with his news, my hand flew to the side, landing on Daryl's arm. I felt him tense, but was too shocked to move it.

"Why the hell not?" Daryl.

"Carl came in. Told Rick to shoot."

"What? Where is he?" Mom two jumped to her feet, running towards the barn to find her family.

I heard Daryl clear his throat, and pulled my hand away from him, ducking my head. "What do we do now?"

"There isn't anything else to do. We still need to kill him. Now we just need to get Rick to do it." Scowl muttered, taking Mom two's unoccupied seat.

Sitting up, I groaned softly. "You okay, Red?" Ball Cap gave me a look.

"Yeah, just my side. Not used to being up and about."

"Come on, Little Red." Daryl muttered, standing to lead me to the house again.

I stood and stumbled slightly, leaning against him. Okay, so maybe my side hurt more than I was willing to admit.

There was a scream off in the field, and all thoughts about my side were forgotten. My eyes darted around the group, taking role call. "Dale!" Yeah, I can listen to names. Just because I don't use the names don't mean I know them.

Everyone took off running. I pulled my knife out, struggling to keep up with the rest. Daryl got to the scene first. I saw him lunge at the Walker who was on top of Dale, and quickly stabbed him.

While the rest slowed up, no one knew what to do. They all slowed up, but I couldn't. I choked back a sob as I fell to my knees next to him, dropping my knife. This man was like my father. Why did everyone I care for die?

My hands found his face, resting on his cheeks. "It's okay Dale. You're okay." I struggled to get the words out past the lump in my throat. My eyes darted over his body, looking for bites.

Even the dark couldn't hide his wounds.

His intestines were spilling out of his stomach, and he was gurgling for breath.

"Hershel!" Officer screamed out, trying to get the vet here. But we all knew that there was nothing that could be done.

McDonald was already there, shaking his head. "I'm sorry." That was enough.

"Dale, you're going to be okay." He looked up at me, wide eyed. He was in shock. I gently ran my thumbs over his cheeks, trying to sooth him. "It's okay." Swallow. "Say hi to Lucy for me, okay?"

He looked behind me, and I could tell something was going on out of my vision. Arms were wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled away. "Good bye Dale." I whispered, giving him a weak smile.

Looking over, I saw that everyone was loosing it. This man was the voice of reason for our group. And now he was leaving us.

Officer lifted his gun, point towards the man's head.

One second passed.

Then two.

After the third second of passed, Daryl loosened his grip on my waist, and took the gun in his hands. As he fell to his knees, my left hand gripped the necklace, and my right rested on his back.

"Goodbye brother."

Another loved one gone.

_**A/N: How'd I do? I didn't want to kill of Dale…at all. I LOVE Dale. But it is a focal point in Becca's life now. Just had to do it, unfortunately. **_

_**Question of the day:**_

_**Who is your LEAST favorite member of the group? (If it's Shane, same here. But then who is your second least favorite?)**_


	15. Chapter 15

"Here, I got it." I grabbed a tub of materials from Mom two. "Don't need you carrying anything."

"I'm fine." She said, but gave up the plastic without hesitation.

"You're pregnant." I said, turning towards McDonald. "Where she staying?" I knew better than to ask her. She'd say the floor.

"My room." I nodded and walked up the porch steps, ignoring her weak arguments behind me. "Where is the main room?" I asked one of the farmers daughters. The one shacking up with Ball Cap. She smiled and pointed me in the direction.

Taking the bin of clothes, I put them down on the bedroom floor and nodded slightly to myself. My side felt a little better than yesterday, but the pain in my chest wouldn't lessen. Six gone.

"Miss Becca?" Turning, I saw the little boy standing in the door way. He looked scared of me. And so much like Henry.

Crouching down to his level, I gave him a weak smile. "Its just Red bud. What's up?"

He shifted from foot to foot, then held out a gun to me. "I took Daryl's gun."

I took it from him, quickly checking the clip. Full. "Why'd ya do that, bud?"

Not meeting my eyes, I saw his face drop. "I don't know. I took it, and went into the woods."

"It's alright bud. But why don't you go tell your dad?" Why did he pick me.

He nodded slightly, but then looked at me. "I was scared to tell Daryl."

"Why?"

He made a face of utter shock. "He's scary."

I chuckled and ruffled his hair slightly. "Naw, not really. But I won't tell him you took it."

His face lightened a bit. "Really?"

"Really. Now, go talk to your dad. I'm sure that who you really want to talk to."

He nodded and turned, but paused. I was about to ask if he was okay, but he quickly turned, threw his arms around me, then darted off. I couldn't, hell I wouldn't, hide my smile.

"Look what I found." I held the gun out to Daryl, who was packing material into the bed of his pickup. Out of respect for Dale, we all decided to let the prisoner go. In the end, it was probably the best choice all along.

"Where the hell ya find that?" He took the gun quickly, tucking it into his waistband.

"I took it. Scowl still has mine. Needed one, took it." I shrugged, struggling to keep my poker face. "Decided to give it back since you've been looking for it."

He looked me up and down, judging my answer. He scoffed and shook his head. "Damn girl."

"Here." Black man passed me a handgun, which I took and inspected quickly.

"Dale's?" He nodded, and I slid it into my waistband. "Thanks."

He nodded and left, leaving just me and Daryl. "So…I got a proposition for ya."

"Well damn." He grumbled, not pleased. Hell, he hadn't even heard it yet!

"Just hear me out." When he didn't respond, I decided to keep going. "We won't be able to stay here forever. Not with Scowl here too. McDonald's gonna want us out." I heard him chuckle, which I just marked up to the dumb ass nick names. "We need to go to town and get some supplies. Chains, locks, tents, clothes."

"So?"

"So, you should take me. You watch my back, I gather supplies. Simple, fast, in and out."

He looked at me, then stood up. "Ta morrow."

I smirked at him, pride filling me. "Good."

"Rick!" Shane trudged towards the group. Everyone was panicking. Where the hell was that prisoner?

"What happened?" Mom one asked, fear filling her voice.

"Bastard clocked me in the face. Took my gun." Blood covered his face, pouring from a cut above his nose. Damn, wish I would have been the one to do that to him.

"Everyone, get in the house! Daryl, Glenn, you're with us." Officer barked out orders, pulling out his gun. Black man gave his gun to Scowl.

"Weren't we going to let him go anyway? Wasn't that the plan?" Mom one asked, hugging herself. I was struggling with the voice inside my head. Stay with the group? Or go find the bastard?

"Not on our doorstep with a gun!" Officer barked back.

I grabbed Daryl, making him look at me. "You be careful."

"Always am." He grumbled back, but I swear a saw a flicker of fear cross his face.

"You told me you'd take me to town tomorrow. You better come back to do that." I quickly threw my arms around his neck, then backed up.

He nodded, turned, and followed the other men into the woods.

Turning, I looked at the group. "You heard them! In the house! Carl and women upstairs. Anyone with guns, close up the first floor, and be ready." I don't know what happened that made me suddenly take the leader role, but no one else seemed to be ready to do it.

No one argued with me, but just turned and sprinted towards the house. I followed closely behind, the last one to make it to the house. Looking back towards the woods, I let out a slow breath, hoping everyone would be okay.

Shutting the door, I locked it, then got ready to protect the rest of our group. We couldn't loose anyone else.

There was pounding on the door, and everyone tensed. Gripping my gun tightly in my right hand, I peeked out the peephole. "Thank God!" I called out, throwing the door open after unlocking it.

Daryl and Ball Cap ran in, panting.

"Rick back yet?" Ball Cap.

"No, you guys are the first ones we've seen." I quickly shut the door, relocking it. "What happened?"

"We found Randall. He was a Walker. His neck was broke though, no bites."

"How did that happen?" Black man voiced my concerns, shot gun firmly in hands.

"Don't know…" Daryl put his crossbow onto his back, wiping sweat from his forehead. Everyone seemed to get some sort of memo that I missed, walking off. Leaving just the two of us.

"Are you okay?"

He looked me up and down, sighing. "Fine. I ain't dead."

"Could you answer me once without the god damn sarcasm?" Okay, sue me. I'm on edge.

"No."

"Fuck you." All I wanted was to create bonds between someone in this group. For some reason, that person seemed to be Daryl. Don't know why, just happened. But he keeps pushing me away.

Turning, I walked over to the door, looking out the peephole. Once I didn't see anyone, I leaned against the door, and looked straight ahead, not making contact with his eyes.

"Becca…"

I just shook my head, trying to keep my anger from boiling over.

"Walkers!" The voice trailed down to us from on top of the stairs. The fear that filled it masked anything else, and I couldn't tell who called out the warning.

Turning, I looked out the peephole. "Holy fuck."

"How many?" Daryl asked, and I could hear the clink of his crossbow being loaded.

"More bolts than you have." There were dozens. Hundreds even.

"Where's Carl?" Mom two screamed, running down the stairs.

"What? Wasn't he up there with you?" I asked, trying to figure out what to do.

"No! He came down here, said he was going to stay with you. Help keep us safe. Where is he?"

I swallowed thickly, turning to look around for the boy. "Did anyone barricade the back door?"

The boys looked at each other, then finally looked at me. "Locked it. All we could do in the time."

"Fuck." I closed my eyes, trying to gather myself. Snapping my eyes open, I went into leader mode. "Daryl, take them to the cars. _Don't _look back. Get all of them in the cars and get them out of here. Leave the truck for me. I'm going to look for the boy." I checked my gun and my knife quickly, then started to run towards the back door.

"No, let me go with you!" Mom two cried out.

Turning, I shook my head. "No, you're pregnant. You aren't in the best condition. _When _I find him, he's going to need you. Now, go."

She nodded, turned, and moved to get ready to leave with the boys. I saw McDonald load his shotgun and move towards the door. He wasn't going down without a fight.

Moving out the back door, I did a quick sweep of the area. Few Walkers had made it this far yet. I decided to just run, looking for the boy.

As I started to run farther into the yard, I saw light peeking at the edge of my vision. Turning, I saw that the barn was on fire, and Walkers were struggling away from it. Was the boy in there?

I decided, then and there, that I needed to help the boy. Hanging a left, I started to make a big loop towards the back of the barn. By cutting through the trees, I managed to get there without much problems, only passing a few Walkers along the way, all of which I managed to dodge.

Once I was at the back of the barn, I was engulfed in heat. I hoped the boy wasn't near it.

"Carl?"

"Red!" Officer yelled, his son right at his heals. I let out a slow breath of relief. They were alive. "Where's Lori?"

"She's fine. They're getting into cars. Get to them fast." I pointed them in the direction of the car, then ran quickly behind.

"Help!" Mom one screamed out, and I tensed. How the hell did she end up over by the shed?

"Keep going! I'll meet up, or leave me a car!" I called to the father and son, then turned to run towards her.

My idea of running and dodging didn't last any more. Mom one was stuck in the thick of the herd. Lifting my gun, I tried to assess the biggest threats. Walker next to her, the one after that. Walker after Walkers hit the ground.

"Lookout!" She pressed herself against the wall, pointing behind me.

Turning, I lifted my gun, ready to kill. But it wasn't me who she was warning. Blondie apparently got the same hero instinct after Mom one's scream.

Except, there was a Walker right behind her. She turned, pulled her gun, and fell to the ground.

"Run!" I yelled to Mom one, taking down two more Walkers. She didn't hesitate, but ran off away from the herd.

Running over to Blondie, I raised my gun. Could I still save her? Was she bit?

She rolled the figure off of her, and jumped to her feet. She raised her gun and kept shooting, like a true fighter.

"We need to get out of here, now!" I yelled, one more shot.

She nodded, and started to run towards the direction Mom one ran, but I grabbed her. "No! They left a car." I looked behind me at where the other woman disappeared. God, we should go help her. "Go, we'll circle back for her!" My heart dropped, but I knew I had to at least get one person out of this alive.

We started to shoot any Walker that got in our way, eyes set on the Jeep.

Getting there, we jumped into the seats, and I shot another lone Walker getting near the car. "Damn it, Blondie! Drive!"

"I can't find the damn keys!" She shuffled under the seat, searching for them. Dropping my now empty gun, I pulled my knife and started to take out Walkers this way. Damn, this was ten times more Walkers than I've taken out total.

"Finally!" The clinking of metal was music to my ears as she jammed them into the ignition, roaring the car to life. She floored it up towards where we last saw Mom one, running over the Walkers that got in our way.

"Carol!" We yelled out, trying to find the woman.

"What is that?" I pointed my free hand forward, using my right hand to hold onto the door to keep from falling out.

"Tail lights."

"Tail _light. _Daryl's bike?"

"Maybe he picked up Carol."

"God forgive us if he didn't."

_**A/N: Short, sorry. Next chapter is when I get to do whatever the hell I want! YES, so excited! Hope you liked it, let me know what you think!**_

_**Question of the day:**_

_**Which scare you more? Few fast zombies, or a mass of slow moving? (Just a personal question I always wonder : ) **_


	16. Chapter 16

Pulling over on the highway, I jumped out of the jeep faster than it came to a stop. We were meeting at the spot where we left food for Sophia, and thankfully everyone seemed to have the same train of thought.

Running up to the bike, I saw that Mom one was carefully getting off of it. Thank god.

Throwing my arms around Daryl, I struggled to keep back tears. He stumbled off the bike slightly, but the wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his chest, fighting back my emotions.

"Ya okay?" He whispered. I actually heard something of care come from him. It nearly broke me down.

I nodded into his chest, trying to pull myself together. He was alive. So were all of the member of our group that could tell so far. We were blessed.

Pulling back, I quickly swiped at my eyes, sniffing slightly. "Alright, I'm good." I straightened my shirt and shrugged. "What's first?"

Daryl gave me a look, but just jerked his thumb towards Officer. "Ask him."

Nodding, I walked over to the group circle, pulling myself onto the hood. "What's first?" I repeated.

Officer ran his hand over his face gruffly.

Mom two got to it first. "Where's Shane?"

"He turned." Officer shook his head, looking distraught.

"I put him down…" The little boy whimpered out. Fuck.

"You what?" His mom wrapped him into a hug, comforting him.

"Well talk about it later." Officer growled out, shifting slightly.

Mom two looked horrified, and wrapped her arms around her son, pulling him towards the cars. Surely to listen and offer her opinion when needed.

"Did anyone manage to get anything from the house?" I asked, looking around. Everyone shook their heads no. Damn. "Alright, first thing that _I _think we do, find a place to hunker down. Some go into small towns along the way, gathering material." I now had everyone's attention. They were looking at me for what to do next.

"I'm sure that there will be some stores that haven't been completely scavenged, especially if we take back roads and go through small towns."

"And where do you suggest we go?" Black man.

"Anyone got a map?" Ball Cap walked forward, letting go of the woman he was holding on to, and passed me a paper.

"Come on, gather 'round." I jumped off the hood and smoothed the map in my place. "You see that?" I asked pointing to a box on the map, next to a blue line.

"What is it?" Mom one.

"If my memory's right, it's my cousin's school. Spring Valley High School. It's a small place. We should be able to lock it down in a day. Easy enough to protect, since it's on a hill. That line right there," I traced the line, "Is a river. Water to clean, drink if we boil, and bathe. There is probably still some food there, and I doubt many Walkers."

"There's gotta be Walkers." Daryl.

"Not necessarily. A few years back there were a mass amounts of bomb threats. The school got locked down to keep people from coming in and stealing while it was closed. Same with the H1N1 breakout. Anytime there is a situation where it is deemed unfit for the students to go to school, this place got locked up tight. And, I doubt anyone would break in after they closed it down. Everyone was told to go to Atlanta."

"Damn, what did you do before the world went to shit?" Daryl muttered, looking utterly in awe. Or confused. I couldn't tell.

"Was in college to be a pastry chef." Jaws dropped. "But I've been in the GIEP program since I was a child."

"GP what now?" Ball Cap.

"GIEP. Gifted individualized educational program. Basically, I grew up a nerd." Shrugging, I folded the map back up and handed it back to him. "Things like this just click in my mind. Problem solving especially."

"Well, it sounds like a pretty sound plan to me." McDonald shrugged, looking over to Mom two and her son. "What do you think."

"Sounds good." The boy mumbled, but he seemed to be so confused.

"We should head out then. Get as far as we can, pull over and sleep when we need." Officer moved over to his car, mostly talking to himself. He was loosing it, and it freaked me out.

Everyone moved back to their vehicles, and Mom one nodded towards Daryl. "I'm going to ride with Andrea." She moved over to the jeep, and I shifted from foot to foot.

Daryl threw his leg over his bike, and revved the engine. "Ya comin' or what?" He yelled over it, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Hell ya." I threw my leg over, biting on my lip to keep a wince from escaping. I felt better, but not 100%.

Wrapping my arms around his stomach, I pressed against him, preparing for the ride to the school. I felt his hand pat mine, giving me comfort, before he rode off. Maybe we could make it out of this alright after all.

There was a honk behind us, and Daryl pulled over. I felt uneasy, being left out in the dark, in the open.

Hopping off the bike, I looked towards the rest of the group. Officer got out of his car, shaking his head. "Running on fumes."

"So what do we do now?" Little boy asked, and I was shocked that more people turned towards me than to Officer.

"Hunker down for the night. Make a small fire. We split into shifts and get what sleep we can. Tomorrow we'll see if we can siphon any gas. If not, we'll pile into the running cars." I rattled off quickly, shocked at how easily it did.

"Becca, you're not the leader here." Officer growled out, shocking me.

"Never said I was. People looked to me, I answered."

"Shane was right. You're not part of this group. Your just a guest."

"Since when do you listen to Shane?" I asked, fighting the urge to step away from this man who has clearly jumped off the deep end.

"Speakin' of…" Daryl muttered, trying to break up the confrontation. "We found Randall. He turned, but ain't bit." That right, we never did get to ask Officer about that.

He gruffly ran his hand over his face, struggling with something. This wasn't going to be good. "There was something Jenner told me at the CDC."

I peeked at Daryl. Jenner…Jenner….the doc? I don't know, but everyone tensed. "And what was that?"

"We're all infected. If we die, we turn."

"What? Why didn't you tell us?" Mom two pushed her son behind her, fearing her own husband.

"I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure."

I let out a slow breath, calming myself. In the end, this didn't really change anything. I just wish he would have told us sooner.

"What?" Everyone was in an uproar, making more noise than they should.

"Hey!" I called out, receiving everyone's attention. "We'll deal with this in the morning. Nothing changed. We still don't get bit, we still don't die. We do, get shot through the head. Nothings changed." Everyone seemed to settle slightly, swallowing their anger. "But if you keep yelling like this, then Walkers are going to show up."

They nodded, but several still had furry clear on their face. They didn't trust Officer anymore.

"Alright guys. I think it's too dark to do much. Go look in the cars to see if we can find any blankets, and we'll split into two groups for watch." Everyone nodded and started to sift through out cars.

Officer came up to me, glaring. "You aren't the leader of this group."

"Well, as of now, neither are you."

"This isn't a democracy anymore, Becca." He spat out my name. Boy, he better watch himself.

"I think you should get some sleep now. You might not want a democracy, but I still do."

"If you don't like how I run this, feel free to leave. The door's right there."

"We're in the middle of the woods, _Officer. _There aren't any damn doors. Now I suggest you go to sleep and we'll talk this over when you're less pissed."

I felt Daryl move up next to me, and Officer stepped back. He gave me one last look before going back to his car. I saw him slip in, followed by Mom two and the boy. Guess a family sticks together.

Black man, Daryl, and I took the first watch. Black man at on the hood of the car, Daryl leaned against the door, and I sat perched on top of the roof. "Anyone got an extra clip?"

Black man reached into his pocket and handed me a fresh magazine, which I quickly used to load my gun, putting the empty one in my back pocket.

I started to shake slightly, the chill in the air sinking down to my bones. Daryl looked at me, then reached into the bed of the pickup, tossing a sleeping bag at me.

"Thanks." I quickly wrapped it around myself, snuggling into the warmth.

"What should we do now?" Black man asked, looking up at me.

"Keep watch?" I didn't get his question.

"No. I mean with Rick. He seems to have gone off the deep end."

I shook my head, pulling my hair down, then back up into a pony before answering. "I don't know. I say we just stick to our plan. The sooner we get to the school, the better. I think we're probably two hours out still. We get there, maybe siphon gas along the way, then lock it down. Simple. Go from there."

He nodded. "You should be the leader, not that hot head."

"Please, I'm more of a hot head."

"But you don't keep secrets from us that could turn us into Walkers."

Shrugging, I sighed. "In my mind, there's no difference. We tried not to die before. We try not to die now."

My head started to dip slightly, and I felt a hand nudge my leg. "Come on, git ya to bed."

Nodding, I slid off the roof of the car, keeping the blanket wrapped around me. "Should we get the others?"

"T-Dog already is." Daryl led me towards the bed of the pickup.

I slid into the bed of the pickup, rearranging the bags to make a pillow. He grabbed some himself and started to move away. "Where the hell are you going?"

"Find some ground to sleep on." He shrugged, and I sat up.

"Shut up and come here."

He gave me a look, so I just rolled my eyes. Although he probably couldn't see it in the dark. "Your not sleeping on the damn ground."

After a few moments hesitation, he finally shrugged and laid down onto the bed of the pickup. I threw part of the blanket over him, and turned away. "I'll stay on my side if you stay on yours."

He grumbled, and I closed my eyes. His breathing evened out, and within minutes he was asleep. Even though we were out in the open, I felt safer knowing he was there. A smile pulled at my lips and I drifted off into sleep.

"_Lucy, be careful." I whispered as she moved her way towards the blue van where the rest of the kids and women were. My mother followed slowly behind, but I staid put._

"_You should go wit 'em." One of the men told me, giving me a look._

"_All due respect, but I have some questions about the whole world gone to shit thing. Questions I need answered more than I need sleep."_

_The youngest man gave me a look, and sat down on the ground near the fire. "Got a mouth on you, don't you?"_

_I hadn't even realized I had cursed. My filter was gone. I had just killed my brother. I guess it made sense. "It's as new to me as it is to you."_

_The other men sat, some messing with their guns, one sifting through a bag. "Here." He tossed me something, which I thankfully caught in the dim light of the weak fire._

_Holding it towards the flames, I read the label. Tuna. I gave him a nod of thanks and pulled the lid off and started to eat the food. It tasted fantastic to my food deprived stomach._

"_So, what questions ya got?"_

_I took another bite of food, trying to gather my thoughts. I had so many questions. Where to start?_

"_What are those things?" Good enough start as any._

"_We call em No Souls. Creatures from hell. You get bit, ya turn into one of those in a few hours. The fever hits ya first, burning you out. You loose your mind, then you die." He shook his head sorrowfully. "Then you come back as those things."_

"_It's not just if your bit." I took another mouthful of food, trying to push back thoughts of my lost family._

"_What?" Everyone moved towards me, angered by this revelation._

"_My uncle turned. He was only scratched."_

"_Well damn then. Guess we'll have to watch for that too." The men settled back into their seats. "Thanks friend."_

_Nodding, I started to nibble on my bottom lip. "Is there anything I should know about them?"_

"_Aim for the head. Keeps them down." Youngest boy answered. I nodded and added that to my growing knowledge of these creatures._

_There was noise on the outside of the circle of cars, and everyone tensed. The man closest to the van ducked and walked over to it, shutting the door quietly, and then moving back over towards our group._

"_What is that?" I whispered, gripping the gun in my shaking hands._

_They looked at me, and cocked their guns. "Hell."_

My eyes opened and I gasped in air. _You're okay. You are still in the bed of the pickup truck. There aren't any Walkers around. You're fine._

Catching my breath, I sat up and stretched, the morning sun already beating down on me. Guess it was time to get up.

Looking over, I noticed Daryl was no longer next to me. Of course. Slipping out of the bed of the pickup, I shoved the bag into the back and lifted the tailgate.

Checking my weapons, I moved towards the commotion of the group. "There she is." Someone called, and everyone moved towards me.

"So, what's first?" Ball Cap asked, glancing over at Officer.

"First, I need to talk to you." I moved my attention towards Officer. He nodded, and we moved away from the group. "Alright, we need to get this straight. They are probably going to ask me for advice now that you completely lost it. So you can be pissy about it, or you can let it happen." Crossing my arms over my chest, I gave him a look. "Decide."

"It's my group."

"Bull." I shot back, narrowing my eyes.

"I'll let them choose."

Nodding, I dropped my arms. "Smart man." Turning on my heals, I walked back to the group. "Alright, do you want to hear my plan or Officer's?"

No one said a word, but everyone was turned towards me. Answering my question. "Alright. I think we should send some people to siphon gas. Small group going a short while ahead. Then come back, fill up the cars, and make our ways towards the school. Along the way, me and Daryl will go to into a small town. Gather small supplies from houses and stores. Just me and him, in and out quickly. Then go to the school."

Everyone nodded, although I saw that some people were skeptical. "Trust me, this will work. We'll gather food, locks, chains, tents. Everything we'll need. It will work."

People seemed to ease at this, and moved towards the cars. I grabbed a gas can from the bed of the pickup and looked around. "Ball Cap, Crossbow. You're with me. Let's go."

They followed closely behind me as we trudged towards the horizon. "Everyone else, stay put. Gather supplies, see if you find anything along the way. Be smart!" I called over my shoulder, then moved towards our next goal. God I hoped it would work.

**Question of the day:**

**Favorite canned food?**


	17. Chapter 17

"Okay, we're heading out." I checked my gun and knife, putting both into place. "Stay here. If anything happens, leave an arrow pointing in the direction you left out of this." I tossed a bottle of red nail polish at Ball Cap. I had found it in one of the cars while we were gathering gas.

He nodded and sighed. "Be careful. Is there a time we should come looking for you?"

Rubbing my face, I tried to think. "One day. Shouldn't take even that long. If it does, leave an arrow, and go to the school. If anything happens to change your plans, leave us arrows pointing us in the right way. Look through the cars for supplies, and make sure you get everything that is useful."

We were on the outskirts of a small town. There were a couple dozen cars along the stretch of road we were on. There had to be something useful they could find while Daryl and I were looking in stores.

I received a few more nods, then turned to Daryl. "Ready?"

He checked his crossbow, then his gun. Nodding, he moved towards the pickup. We had all agreed that we'd take the pickup and the rest would be kept with the group. Our car had half a tank of gas, and the rest were left with enough, and materials to siphon gas if needed.

Slipping into the passenger seat, I looked behind at the group. They were tightly packed together, fear filling their faces. Off on the edge of the group was Officer.

Turning toward, the car started to move and I looked at the passing scenery. "Do you think they'll be okay." "They'll be just fine. It's you I'm worried about."

"And why the hell is that?" I bit back.

He gave me a look, then turned his attention back to the road. "I'm sure you'll just do something stupid to git yerself killed."

Pulling up to the Wal-Mart, my expectations were low. I'm sure this would be the first place everyone checked for supplies. But still, I'm sure there's things in there that we could use that others wouldn't.

"Park by the doors. We'll do a sweep through to check for Walkers, then I'll gather supplies while you watch my back. We'll make as many trips as needed, then check around town for other supplies."

"Ya don't need ta order me around." He grumbled, getting out of the car and loading his crossbow.

"Just shut up and walk." I pulled out my knife and practiced grabbing for my gun.

We slid through the isles, Daryl taking out four Walkers long range, while I took out two at close. Once the whole store was cleared, I grabbed a cart and started to move through the isles. Most were scavenged, and there was no food left in any, or water. Angered, I made my way towards the hardware section.

All of our tools had been in the RV, so I started there. Surprisingly, it looked almost as if no one had even been in this section of the store, surely focusing only on the food. Bad for them, good for me.

I heard Daryl shuffling behind me while I threw any and every tool I saw into the cart. Most of them I knew, but some of them were a mystery to me. I would hate to pass up the opportunity to have something we needed.

By the time I made it to the next isle, the bottom of my cart was filled with tools, screws, nails, nuts, bolts, everything you could imagine. Anything I knew we would need, I grabbed multiple of.

"Good." I muttered when I saw the chains and locks. That was exactly what I wanted to get while we were here. I threw every single one into the cart. Chains of every size, and all sorts of locks. I tried to mostly get the locks without keys, but in the end I ended up getting those too. A plan for locking up the school was already stirring in my mind, and we would need everyone.

By this time, the cart was virtually full. Looking at Daryl, I pushed the cart towards him. "Lets unload this."

Nodding, he turned it around, but waited for me to push it while he watched our backs.

Getting to the truck, I quickly started to put everything into the bed of the pickup, as quickly and quietly as I could. When I was done, I turned and quickly moved back into the story.

This time I headed towards the clothes. This was scavenged a little, but virtually everything remained. It was getting cold, but I didn't know if we would be able to get back here in the summer. Might as well stock up now.

Moving from one stack to the next, I tossed everything into the cart. Any size, color, or material. If we couldn't fit into them, we would find other uses.

Shirts, jeans, shorts, sweaters, jackets, socks, underwear. Everything other than nice dress up clothes were grabbed, and I made sure to grab baby and toddler clothes for the new baby on its way. After four carts I had finally cleared all of the clothes, and the bed of the pickup was filling up quickly. Shit.

Running back into the store, I went over to the bedding section. We have been struggling for warmth, so this should help. I grabbed only one pillow per person, plus one for the baby. I then grabbed three throw blankets, three comforters, two sheets, and then a sleeping bag (from the camping section) for everyone.

The cart was overflowing, and I looked over at Daryl. "Anything I miss?"

He gave me a look and rolled his eyes. "Ya took the whole damn store."

Smirking, I pushed the cart back towards the entrance. "Good."

After several hours of driving around town for any other searchable stores, we came up empty. They were either all sorted through, or overrun. Then sun was dipping below the horizon, and we decided to make our way back to the group.

By the time we arrived, it was pitch black. We only spotted the group when our headlights landed on a circle of cars, forming a protection for the group. Like the first group I found…

Slipping out of the car, everyone eyed up the trunk. "Alright, we didn't find any food, but we can go on another trip for that later. And as for the supplies we did find…" I moved towards the bed, "We'll sort them our later. But as for now, we have a pillow and sleeping bag for everyone.

Faces lit up as they all lined up to get the luxuries offered. Everyone hugged their pillows and quickly wrapped themselves in the sleeping bags. We will all sleep good tonight.

Everyone moved to the cars after giving me meaningful thanks, smiles lighting up their faces. It reminded me of the homeless people that came to my fathers soup kitchen. My heart clenched at the thought and it literally took my breath away.

Grabbing my chest, I leaned against the car, taking a deep breath.

"Red? Ya'll okay?"

My eyes opened to lock on the blue ones that were staring me down. "Yeah…fine." I reached into the bed and tossed him his pillow and sleeping bag.

"Will ya just tell me?" He growled out, keeping his voice low as to not alert the other survivors.

Pulling myself onto the tailgate, I held the pillow to my stomach. "I try not to be a downer."

He scoffed and crossed his arms, leaving no room for any other option. "Just remembering my father, okay?"

"He die?"

I held the pillow tighter. "I don't know. We left him behind." I lowered my head in shame.

"How many did ya lose?"

I held up my fingers as I counted them off. "Two brothers, sister, and mother for sure. Probably my father, aunt, and uncle." Shook my head and sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine." He shrugged and shifted the contents in his arms. "Ya can't sleep in da bed wit all dat shit in it. Better find some ground."

Slipping out of the bed, I picked up my own bag and pillow and looked around, trying to find some place to lay down.

"Ya comin'?" He asked, moving towards the other group of cars.

Okay, not what I was expecting. I followed him none the less, and put my sleeping bag next to his. I eagerly slipped into it, placing my head on the pillow. Yeah I was still sleeping on the ground, but the pillow and warmth from the blanket made it better.

Daryl slid into his sleeping bag, and rested his hand on the ground between us.

Reaching forward, I placed my hand on his. I can't explain why, but I did.

Even in the dark, with our faces so close I could see the face he made. At first it was disgust, then discomfort, but then that all faded, and I saw the corner of his lips curl up slightly.

He turned his hand over and I thought he was about to pull it away, but he laced our fingers together. Not into a full blown hand hold, but just ever so slightly. I smiled back weakly and closed my eyes. Maybe he would be able to fight off the ever present nightmares. Maybe he could keep them at bay, so I could get just one full night of sleep.

"Gather around." I called out to the group after throwing my pillow and sleeping bag into the pickup truck. Everyone stopped what they were doing and moved over to me quickly, falling into a loose circle. Daryl was to my right, and Blondie to my left. Lately, she has been hanging back from the group, so this was shocking. But I didn't say anything.

"This group, in order to work, is going to need input from everyone as much as possible." My eyes cut towards Officer, then back. "Since we have already decided to head over to the school, we can decide to split up the supplies now or at the school. I vote for the school, just so we can get on the way. Any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads and mumbled their agreements. Clapping my hands together, I smirked. "Great. Now get in your cars and Daryl will lead the way towards the school. Should only take two hours to get there. Everyone should have enough gas, but if anything happens, remember. One honk, and we'll stop. Don't fall behind, and stay alert. Just because it's during the day doesn't mean that Walkers won't be about." Nodding, we all shifted towards our cars. Daryl threw his leg over the bike and I slid behind him. My arms wrapped around his back, but the crossbow on his back created space between us.

He drove off, the rest of the group falling into place behind us as we drove towards the school. And hopefully a new safe haven.

Arriving at the school, we all pulled to a stop, and I hopped off the bike, pulling my knife. Crouching, I snuck my way over the pickup where McDonald, Black Man, and McDonald's surviving daughter were. Tapping on the window, I stood up. "Stay in the car. I'll do a sweep through and call ya when it's clear." I whispered. They nodded, cocked the weapons, and stared at the school.

Moving to the bed of the pickup, I reached in and sifted through until I found the wire cutters I was looking for. I swiftly slipped the long handle into my belt loop and made my way over to the jeep where Blondie and Mom one were waiting for me. Blondie had a gun firmly in her hand. "Stay put." I muttered, and once they nodded, went to the other two cars, repeating the message.

By the time I made it back to the bike, Daryl had is crossbow loaded and ready to go. "What's the plan?" He mumbled, but he was already in hunter mode.

"Follow me. Kill any Walkers. Clear the whole building, then come get the group to lock it down into a more manageable size."

He gave me a look and scoffed. "No way in hell I'm followin' ya."

"I know the school. I know the layout. You either follow me, or you go sit in the car." I tilted my head, waiting for an answer.

"Shut the fuck up and walk."

Feeling like I won, I smirked and walked towards the doors of the school. Trying to follow my memory, I walked down a set of stairs to a lower door, the door entrance to gym.

"Why didn't we just go in da front?" He grumbled, but I shook my head.

"I know this way, not the way through the front. That's why. Now stop complaining so I can focus." I closed my eyes and tried to picture the halls. "I haven't been here in years."

Opening my eyes, I saw what I had been expecting. The doors were closed and a chain and padlock were wrapped around the handles. Pulling out the wire cutter, I slipped it into the loop of the lock and used my force to quickly bring the handles together. There was the clink of the metal hitting the ground.

Untying the chain, I slipped it into one of my belt loops and tied it into a knot, keeping it firmly on my hip. Replacing the wire cutters, I pulled out my knife and opened the door.

Without the lights on, the main gym was nearly pitch black, the only light seeping in through the high windows. Holding up a fist, I signaled for Daryl to stop. He did, and I listened.

There didn't sound to be any movement, or moaning, which would let me know something was in here with us. Lowering my fist, I cut my away across the gym floor, not liking the sounds it made as I did so. I slipped in one door, knowing it to be the locker room. Once again, clear.

Moving over to the boys locker room, we were hit with the stench of death, and a weak moan. Keeping low, we used the lockers to block ourselves from the Walkers view, in case it saw us first.

Moving, we finally spotted him. He was what appeared to be a janitor, but in the dim light, nothing else could be seen. Daryl stood, pulled the trigger, and the sound of a falling body followed. He ran forward and retrieved his bolt, reloading his weapon.

"We'll come back for that one later."

He nodded, and we continued through the school. The school was one level, and had a yard in the back encircled with a large stone wall. There were some gaps that would be fixed, but as for it now would work. Two broken windows were also found, along with seven Walkers. We took them down with ease, and it was decided that the school was safe enough.

"The café." I whispered, tilting my head towards the large room. As long as my memory was correct, this was the only room left to checked.

Slipping through the double doors, we made our way through the serving section and back through the kitchen. To my surprise, there were four pantries filled to the brim with canned goods. This might have been a better idea than even I imagined.

Once the kitchen was cleared, we moved into the eating area. It was split into two sections. The section to the right was cleared easily, but the one to the right looked like a terrible idea. The entire back wall was just windows. Too easy to break into. Still, we needed to clear it out.

Holding up my fist, I signaled for him to stop. There was a Walker. The small figure groaned and shuffled around the tables and chairs, slowly but surely. From where I stood, I could see his figure, defined in the light from the windows.

His hair was tousled, and clothes covered in dirt a blood. A chunk of flesh was taken from his throat, surely from a Walker bite. His skin was a sickly gray, and the smell of death was terrible. This was obviously an old Walker.

I heard the wind next to my head shift as a bolt whizzed past my head. The Walker jerked to a stop, then fell forward, face landing on his face.

Daryl stood and went to retrieve the bolt. He pulled out the bolt, and I saw the child's head tilt after being lifted. Daryl's eyes drifted down to the face of the Walker, then up to me. Then back down. I swear his face went utterly white.

"What the hell is wrong?" I whispered loud enough for him to hear, but not to alert any unwelcome ears.

"Uh…" He used his boot to turn over the body. From where I sat, I couldn't see any details.

Pissed that he wouldn't answer me, I made my way over to the two of them.

Apparently snapping out of whatever trance he was in, Daryl threw his crossbow over his shoulder and jogged towards me, turning me around and guiding me away. "What's going on?" I whispered, trying to turn and see the figure.

"It's rottin'. Don't want cha ta puke or nothin'." He shrugged, but kept his hand firmly on my back.

I have him a look. "I've seen plenty of Walkers."

"It was….bad." He gave me a look.

"Fine!" I sighed and kept walking. "We'll get the guys, maybe Blondie, and clean out all of the Walkers. Then we'll start to lock up."

"I'll get that one." He jerked his thumb behind us.

There was something fishy going on. And I didn't like it. One way or another, I was going to figure out what was going on.

**Question of the day:**

**What's better to scavenge? A mom and pop store or decent size house?**


	18. Chapter 18

"Boys! Blondie! You're with us." I called out, trudging back up the stairs towards the parking lot.

"What 'bout me?" Ball Cap's play thing asked, crossing her arms.

I looked her up and down. "Can you shoot?"

She nodded and smiled slightly. "Grew up on a farm. Ya pick those things up."

"Good. You got ammo?" She nodded. "Stay here and protect the others. Keep your eyes on them, and don't let any shit happen to them."

She set her jaw and nodded. Clearly, she felt as if she had a new purpose now. Good. We couldn't loose anyone else.

"Follow me." I ordered, rechecking my gun one last time, then trotting down the stairs again.

Getting to the gym doors, I stopped and turned towards the group, jabbing my gun into the back of my waistband.

"Alright. There are a decent amount of Walkers in there. All put down. Take the bodies out through the café. There is a yard behind there. That is where we will burn all of the Walkers. Then we will lock it off since there is a wall of windows. After that, we will get the rest of the group, and move from there."

They all nodded, and walked into the gym. "Stay alert though." I added to the group, then moved over to Blondie. "Follow me. We'll get the ones in the farthest hallway."

She nodded and we made our way towards the hallway. If memory served, there were only three Walkers here. I did notice that Daryl went straight towards the café. If we moved fast, I could still get there before he burned the body.

"Here." We walked into a classroom and looked at the unmoving figure on the ground. The stench was nearly unbearable. "God." I groaned, leaning down and grabbing the figure's shoulders while she took his feet. The flesh beneath my fingers was soft from rot. I fought the urge to puke.

"Make it quick." Blondie muttered through gritted teeth. She clearly wanted to puke as much as I did.

Nodding, we made our way as quickly as we could towards the café. Once we got there, we saw the rest struggling with figures in the same manner as ourselves.

Ball Cap held the door open for us as we shuffled our way towards the growing pile. I made sure to directly next to the small body, the one found in the café.

Putting down the Walker in my hand, I made sure to crouch so I could be as close as possible to the figures face. There had to be something that Daryl saw. Nothing spooked that man, and he was certainly on edge with this boy.

"Little Red, come 'ere!" Daryl called, trudging towards me. He saw me.

Looking closer at the figure, I tried to pick everything out. The back of his skull was caved in due to Daryl's bolt. His hair was covered with grime and dirt, looking almost a dark brown. But no…Reaching my hand forward, I ran a hand through the mop of hair. Underneath the true color could be seen…red.

My heart stopped, and I felt Daryl's hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me away. I quickly, but gently, grabbed the head and tilted it towards me. While Daryl pulled me away, I tried to pick out the features on the boys face.

Freckles were strewn across the boys cheeks and bridge of his nose. His lips were cracked and discolored, but the odd shape was recognizable. Small and the top lip almost made a sharp "M" shape.

His face was destroyed, surely either due to the decomposition of his body, or Walker attacks. Most of the flesh was barely hanging on, exposing his teeth.

But that face is nothing I could ever forget.

"Get off of me." I growled, shoving Daryl away and slowly stalked over to the body. I gently flipped the figure over and ran my hands over his chest. Blood, dirt, and guts were splattered on the shirt. My hands found the little boys chest, and traced the tear in the shirt. A bullet hole.

I fell to my knees and took a deep breath, just staring. Did this happen because the disease was airborne? I know it stops them faster if you hit them in the head, but can they come back if they are shot in the heart? Did I let this happen?

"Red?" Daryl called, walking up behind me again, but keeping his space.

Placing a hand on my heart, I used the other to trace his face, neck, chest and arms. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up, brushed off my knees and turned to the group. "Alright, start a fire over there." I pointed to the left of the pile of bodies. "And burn them fast. You three…" I pointed to the black man, McDonald, and Blondie. "Work on that. The rest of ya'll, come with me. We'll go get the rest of the group." I started to walk towards the café again, but noticed a lack of footsteps behind me.

Turning, I glared at them. "Get off your lazy asses and come on! We're running out of daylight."

"Red, what's going on?" Ball Cap.

"None of your damn business."

"That yer brotha?" Daryl.

"Was." I crossed my arms, making sure to lock eyes with each one, showing them that I wasn't weak. "We've all lost loved ones. I knew he was dead. Doesn't make any difference now. Let's finish up the job before we lose anymore."

Everyone dropped their gazes and set out on the tasks I had assigned them. My group set off towards the parking lot, but Daryl held me back in the hallway. "Ya need ta talk 'bout it." He mumbled, ice eyes cutting into mine.

I looked into his eyes and swallowed my words. Finally, when I was sure I wouldn't blurt something stupid out, I found what I wanted to say. "What is there to say?"

"How did ya know he was dead?" His hand reached forward and rested on my elbow.

"He got bit because my mother was a dumbass who couldn't protect her own kids. I had to put him down."

"There ain't anythin' done to 'is head."

"So?" I squinted at him, trying to find my answer written somewhere on his face.

"They don't turn if ya get 'em in da head. Anywhere else, they keep comin'."

My breath hitched and I swear my heart stopped. I yanked my arm away from him and turned. "We should get to the group."

"Red, what da hell is goin' on?" He whispered, grabbing my hand and turning me.

"I don't need to go skipping down memory lane with you, Crossbow. If you want me to, then you have to tell me about your past first." I crossed my arms, and saw his wall flash up. "That's what I thought."

Turning, I walked away. There was nothing that he needed to know.

"Alright, you." I pointed to the farmers daughter. "Be their guards. The rest of ya'll, take everything in the cars into the school. We will have to stay in the lobby until we can set up rooms. Officer, McDonald, start boarding up windows. Start in the lobby and work your way back. They won't all get done today, but do your best. There should be extra wood in the tech ed classrooms. Start there."

Turning to Ball Cap and Crossbow I sighed. "You two are with me. We're going to go around and start to lockdown the school." There was no way I was about to be alone with Daryl again.

Everyone split, starting their own designated jobs. Walking over to the pickup truck, I started to toss packages of chains and locks to Ball Cap and Crossbow. They both gave me looks, and I just rolled my eyes. Picking up my own package of chain, I unsheathed my knife and used it to open it. Putting the knife back, I slid the chain through my belt loops, creating a belt.

I continued in this fashion until I had three chains around my waists, but then the weight started to make my pants sag, so I changed it to wrapping them around my shoulders.

Once I was sure that between the three of us we had enough chains for our job, I started to open the lock packages. Since all of the passwords were set to 0-0-0, I opened the locks and slid them through the chains around my neck. First one side, then the other to balance it out. I put the same amount of locks on the chains as the chains itself.

"Ready?"

The boys hand locks on their belt loops and chains thrown over their shoulders. "You look badass." Ball Cap commented, then laughed.

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly, then shook my head. "Come on." I walked past, grabbed his hat, and made my way down the stairs while placing it on my head.

Walking through the gym doors, I looked around. "Alright. We'll lock this up at night." I slid one of the chains from my belt loops around one of the door handles, then added a lock to it. "Keep all of the pass codes set to the default."

They nodded, and we made our way out of the gym, keeping the exit door unlocked. We got to the library and I pulled out another chain, twisting it around the two door handles in a sideways 8 formation.

"So, Little Red…" Ball Cap said, passing me one of his locks.

"Yup?" I finished the chain and started to thread the lock through the holes in the chain.

"Bet your glad that things ended how they did with Shane, huh?"

I froze, straightened up, and turned to look at him. "I will never be glad to lose a member." I struggled to keep my eyes form cutting over to Daryl. If I did, I feared that I would show too much in my eyes.

"That's not what I meant. But after what he did to you…"

"Doesn't make a difference. Now drop it." I turned and started to walk towards the next thing we needed to lock down, but of course, Daryl wouldn't let it go.

His large hand landed on my shoulder, successfully stopping me in my tracks.

"What the hell is he talkin' 'bout?" He growled in my ear. I tried to shrug off his hand, but to no use. He raised his voice, redirecting the question to Ball Cap. "What happened?"

"Didn't she tell you?"

"It's none of his damn business!" I hissed, turning to look at the two of them.

"What. Happened?" Daryl growled out again, anger growing by being kept in the dark.

Ball Cap gave me a look. I clenched my jaw and got ready for the fireworks. "Shane tried to rape her."

"What the fuck?" Daryl spun around and eyes locked on me.

"It doesn't matter. He didn't rape me. And now he's dead." I started walking down the hall, readjusting the chains as I walked. "Karma's a bitch."

"Alright everyone. Good job today. We'll pick it up tomorrow. Tonight we'll sleep in here, then divvy up rooms tomorrow. All halls are on lockdown as of now. In an emergency, all locks unlock with the code 0-0-0. Everyone got that?"

Everyone nodded, in a circle around me.

"Good. Now we haven't had enough time to completely search the kitchen, but this is the food for tonight. Come up and get your portion."

They fell into line, Carl first, followed by the moms, then everyone else. I passed each person a small can of food, and a water bottle. They all took it happily and moved into corners of the large lobby.

I grabbed a can of tuna and sat down on the built in bench. Tuna has always been my favorite canned food, and seems to be quiet helpful nowadays. I felt a figure sit next to me, and took a bite of food before turning to see the inevitable. Daryl.

He cracked open his can of spam and took a bite. After over half the can of both of our meals were eaten before he said anything. And even then he looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. "My dad used ta beat up my mom. One day, he took it to far. She didn't want to sleep wit him. Don't blame 'er. He was a piece of shit.

"He got mad. Forced 'er into the bedroom and raped 'er. She cried. He beat the shit outta 'er. Ended up killin' 'er." His eyes glazed over and he looked off into the distance.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"'Cause ya need ta tell me when douche bags like Shane hurt ya." His eyes drifted to mine, and I let out a slow breath.

Looking around, I noticed that everyone was engulfed in their own conversations. Turning back to Daryl, I placed my hand on his and gave it a slight squeeze.

"I know. I just didn't want to get you all riled up. I'm fine. Really."

His face was hard, but he nodded, stood, and walked away. Sighing, I raised to my feet and walked towards the door where everyone had taken to putting the trash.

Walking back to the group, I clapped my hands together. "Alright. Everyone gather up your sleeping bags and pillows. Try to stay towards the center of the lobby, just since we haven't had too much time to barricade the doors. Officer, McDonald. Can you take the first shifts? Daryl and I will take the second, and Ball Cap and Blondie will take the last. Everyone good with that?"

There were nods, then the group dispersed. The families staid close, but the rest weren't far away. Weapons were placed in reaching distance, and the zipping of sleeping bags filled the area.

Picking up my material, I moved back over towards where the bench was. Close to the group, for far enough away that I could gather my thoughts.

A bag dropped down next to me, and I looked up to see Daryl, not making eye contact, setting up his own gear.

I smirked slightly, then unrolled my sleeping bag and put my pillow down. Looking around one more time, then took my knife holster off my leg and placed it down above my pillow, followed by my still loaded gun.

Slipping into the bag, I tried to get comfortable while still fully dressed, down to my shoes. You never know when you need to run fast.

Daryl did the same, his trusty crossbow loaded above his head. In the dark of the lobby, I could just barely see his face. We were inches apart, and I sighed. "My mother was raped when she was younger. It ruined her life. She went into depression and tried three times to kill herself. First she cut herself, but she blacked out before she could cut a major artery. The second time she took pills, but her mom found her and took her to the hospital. The last time she slipped a cord around her neck and tried to hang herself. Her best friend came over, found her, and cut her down."

"Why are ya tellin' me this?" He whispered, but I noticed that his eyes never left mine.

"That is why I didn't tell you about Shane. I felt like if I admitted it, then I would end up like her." I sighed and closed my eyes for a few minutes, then opened them and looked at him. "Her friends name was Rebecca. I was named after her since she saved my mother. That's why I hate being called Rebecca. It just reminds me of that. That my mother tried to kill herself."

"Lil Red, it ain't that bad." He reached his hand out and gently ran it over my face. I sighed and leaned into it.

"I know it's not. But anything about my mother upsets me."

"She die?"

"I don't know." I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. "I left her behind."

He pulled his hand back, and I opened my eyes. "Ya what?"

"We were attacked. It was just the three of us. Me, her, and Lucy. She said that I was a monster, letting the rest of the family die. She said she was tired of running, and she wouldn't let me take Lucy." Pin pricks stuck my eyes, and I felt the tears coming. "Lucy was sobbing, saying she didn't want to be eaten by those things. She struggled to get away, but our mother held her so tight. She was strangling her, saying how God needed them now.

"The Walkers were getting closer. Lucy sobbed, screaming to be let go. My mother wouldn't let go. Lucy turned, bit her hand, then ran to me. I grabbed her hand, and we ran, unable to find a car. The last thing I heard my mother say was, 'Bitch! How dare you just killed her. She's going to suffer…'"

I turned away from Daryl, feeling tears fill my eyes. I sniffled softly, trying to push the image away. It didn't work.

A warm arm was thrown over my stomach, and I was pulled back, until I was pressed against his body. No words were spoken, but the fact that we just laid like that that comforted me. I placed my hand over his, and closed my eyes. A few minutes later, when he surely thought I was asleep, I felt his lips press into my hair and a soft kiss was placed there. "I'll protect you." He whispered.

Then sleep overtook me.

**Question of the day:**

**Other than food, water, or weapons, what would be the best thing you could find while scavenging?**


	19. Chapter 19

_The men spread out. One took each side of the van, guns locked and loaded. The youngest man stood next to me, visibly trembling. "Kill 'em." He muttered, lifted his gun, and started to unload the clip. He missed about half of his bullets, but the ones he did hit were right through the head._

_I fumbled with my own gun, lifted it, and took a breath to steady myself. I was doing this to save my sister and mother. And all of those other kids. I pulled the trigger._

_The Walker closest to me hit the ground. I could do this. I kept shooting, but the creatures kept coming. Where one dropped, another two appeared._

_Behind me I heard a scream, and quickly spun around. The van blocked my view from any of the problems going on, but the man on this side of the van turned white and ran around the van._

"_Watch your back!" The boy yelled, and when I spun, a creature lunged itself at me. I let out a scream as I hit the ground. My left arm was crammed into it's neck, keeping it's hungry jaws at bay. But the hands were coming after me. A scratch would kill me just like a bite. _

_I quickly lifted my gun and shot, not taking time to line up the barrel. From this distance, it would have been hard to miss._

_Flipping the figure off of me, I stood up, only to be greeted by the barrel of a gun staring at me. "Ya bit?" The boy asked, gun shaking._

"_No!" I looked around, noticing the number of creatures plummeting, but a few stragglers were still coming._

_The boy turned to start attacking other creatures, but I guess the trembling in fear got to him. The sound of the gun shot ricocheted through the circle of cars, and I fell to the ground._

"_Damnit!" I hissed out, gripping my arm. Thankfully the bullet just grazed me. But it still hurt like a bitch._

"_Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Dan!" The boy cried out, but then turned and started to take down the creatures who had picked up their pace at the smell of fresh blood. I bit my lip, struggling to keep my moans of agony quiet._

_One of the men ran over to me and looked me over. "Bullet?"_

"_Yeah. Your boy doesn't know how to shoot." I muttered through clenched teeth._

"_Don't I know it. Can you stand?"_

"_Yup." He helped me up and guided me to the van. One of the woman opened the van door, moving over so I could be sat down. _

"_Kevin! Get your ass in here now!" Dan called, running to get into the car._

_There was the sound of breaking glass, and as I watched a creature broke the window of the van and pulled one of the children out. He died before the second bite was given._

"_No!" Someone screamed, and was held back. Kevin jumped in the car, and Dan floored it out of there. All of our supplies were left in the SUV, but at least we were alive._

_That was more than the others could say._

A hand shook me, and my eyes opened. I took in a breath of air and swiped at the sweat on my brow.

"Lil Red?" Daryl whispered, hovering over me.

"I'm fine." My hand subconsciously moved to my once injured arm. He caught onto it and slowly moved my hand away. His index finger ghosted over the fading scar. It wasn't anything major. Three stitches. Nothing compared to the healing wound on my leg.

"'Nother cut?"

"Bullet." I smiled weakly and sighed, looking up at him. I don't know what is was. How close his face was. His breath on my face. The utter care he was giving me.

My hands flew behind his head and I gently guided him down to me. Our lips connected and I closed my eyes. The kiss started off gentle, but quickly grew rough. His tongue begged for entrance, which I happily gave. Calloused hands slid up my shirt, exploring my stomach while being hidden by the sleeping bag.

"Eww!" We broke apart and saw Carl, looking at us from where he stood.

I fell back to the ground and pushed Daryl off of me. "Thanks kid." I muttered, then ran my hand over my face. "Can I help ya bud?"

"My mom wants to know if there is anything I can do for the group." He looked really excited.

"Give me a few minutes to get ready, then I'll let you know. Okay?" He nodded enthusiastically, then walked off.

Looking at Daryl, I sighed. "Guess we'll have to wait for some more privacy." I quickly kissed his lips, slipped out of the sleeping bag, and stood. My clothes hung tightly to my body from old sweat. I felt filthy.

Rolling up the sleeping bag, I bound it close and jabbed it on the bench next to my pillow. Daryl did the same. "That better be a promise."

"You know I don't make promises." My hand traced over his biceps. "But you're starting to make me change my mind on that." I bit my lip and forced myself away.

"Alright ya'll gather round!" I called, bending over to pick up my gun and knife holster. I walked over to the center of the lobby, putting my gun into place. Once I was at the forming circle, I took a moment to strap on my holster, then got down to work, mind ticking quickly.

"What's first, Red?" Officer asked, sulking at the edge of the group with his family. He was still pissed that he lost his role as leader.

"We have a few tasks that we need to tackle today. Food is a first. This is a big deal and we need only the best to do it." I smirked and kneeled, eye level with the boy. "Do you think that you, the mothers, and your dad can handle that?"

He nodded happily. "I can do that!"

"Good, because it's a big thing. Can I trust you?" He nodded, and I stood. Pleased. "Gather all of the food that isn't spoiled, Just bring it here and we'll figure out the rest later. Officer, keep an eye on them. Move as a group. Never split up." They nodded, and I kept rattling off my list which was forming as I went.

"Next if repairs. The boys did good for their time yesterday, but we need to finish it up. McDonald, Black Man, Crossbow. You three can do that. Get the tools that we got, and raid the janitor closet if you need to. Board up all of the windows and all the doors except for these." I pointed to the lobby door closest to the parking lot. "The door in the far left hallway, and the one in the far right hallway. Those need just be chained and locked. Got it?"

They all nodded, but I felt Daryl's eyes zero in on me. It made me uncomfortable, but I fought not to show it. "Blondie, Ball Cap, and farm girl. You're all with me. We're going to go room by room, clearing them out so they are livable. And we'll also be looking for anything that can be of use to us. Learning supplies, clothes, weapons. Anything."

"Learnin' supplies? We're 'bout dead and your worried 'bout learnin' supplies?" Officer growled.

I took a step forward, glad to see he matched it with a step back. So I took another until I was in his face. "We all need to stay sane. If that means reading a book or drawing with chalk will keep us there, then so be it. But if you feel the need to fill the void that Shane left, by all means, let us know. Just be prepared to end up like him."

"Is that a threat, little girl?"

"Nope. Just a fair warning." I lifted an eyebrow, and he stepped down. Turning, I clapped my hands. "Alright, let's head out. Everyone, stay with your groups. You take down any Walkers, either take them out to the burning yard or let us know later so we can deal with it. Lock down the hallway once your done with it."

Everyone nodded and moved to their spots, gathering materials for their missions.

Daryl moved over to me while I looked over the group. "Ya split us inta different groups?" He muttered, to which I just glanced at him.

"Yeah. You are needed with the group you are put in. You will be able to fix things quickly. My group is just needed to run quickly and finish our job, since we have the whole school to sift through."

He gave me a look and stormed off. Damn boy was like a baby.

Rolling my eyes, I moved over to my group. "Ya'll ready?"

They nodded, checked their guns, and put them into place in their waistbands.

"Lets head out this way. We'll head for the gym to search for supplies, and clear out rooms along the way." I walked towards the office and undid the lock, pulling up the wall of chain that is used to lock down one hallway from the next. We crossed through the opening, lowered, and locked it again. This way, if Walkers did get in the building, they wouldn't be able to spread through the large area of the school.

We went room by room, gathering materials that we see that we need. In closets we found multiple book bags, and filled them with chalk, note books, pens, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, water bottles. Surprisingly, I found each item would half use. This might have been the best idea out of everything. Coming to this school could save our asses.

By the time we made it to the gym, our bags were full and we had cleared two entire hallways. Enough rooms for all of our needs. We'd empty out the other hallways tomorrow, or later today. At least three hours had passed since we left, and the closed up school was scolding hot. We'd need to fix that.

Opening the gym doors, we did a quick sweep. The windows allowed more than enough light in the room to have it completely lit. There were no new Walkers, so I relaxed just a bit and moved towards the far end of the gym.

There were three sets of double doors, and one single door. One of the double doors led outside, which we would need to lock up. The other doors were made out of wood, and I couldn't tell what was hidden behind them.

Pulling out my knife, I signaled for the rest to stay back. Cracking open the door, I looked around. No Walkers. Putting away my knife, I tilted my head towards the doors. "Clear."

Opening the door wider, I slid in and look around. "Oh. My. God."

"What's wrong?" Ball Cap asked, looking around, trying to spot the threat.

"Bows…arrows…I'm in heaven." I smiled, walking over to the rack of bows, next to a box of hundreds of quivers. At least two hundred.

"You shoot?" Farm girl.

"I used to. My dad made me stop though. Said it was too dangerous." I picked up a green bow and pulled it back. Perfect tension. "I miss it." I slowly put the string back into place, but held onto the bow. "Come pick one out."

They all gave me a look, Blondie scoffed. "I don't shoot no damn bow and arrow. I'm not Robin Hood."

"Did it sound like a question?" I slipped the bow over my shoulder. "We have ample amount of arrows. They're quiet, and arrows are reusable. Long range. Everything guns and knives aren't. Pick out your bow, and we'll take the rest back to the group. I'll teach you all how to shoot later."

Ball Cap and Farm Girl got their bows happily and quickly. Farm Girl took a green bow like mine, and when Ball Cap tried to, he couldn't pull it back all the way. I stifled a laugh, took the bow and put it back on the rack. I replaced it with a yellow bow, which was slightly easier to pull back. "You'll work your way up to that."

He gave me a look, but put the bow over his shoulder as I did. Blondie took a green bow, grumbling about something.

"We'll check out the other two rooms, then come back for the other bows and the arrows." I pulled out my knife and moved to the next room, only needing to peek in before walking back out.

"It's just a weight room." I gave Ball Cap a look. "I'm sure we'll be able to put that to a lot of use."

"Shut up Red." He grumbled.

"I'm serious! We need to work out, get stronger. All of us. Gives us the upper edge if something happens…"

"Alright. What else should we do?"

"Blondie, come with me. We'll check this last room. You two, start gathering the bows and arrows. Find a way to let us transport them in one trip."

They nodded and disappeared. Moving to the last door, I opened it and peeked in. "Looks like an office. Come on." I entered and looked around.

Knife still in hand, I walked around the small office. There wasn't anything of use to us, and I turned back towards the door. And there is where I saw it.

"Wow." I holstered my knife and walked towards the glass case. Inside was ten different quivers, each with a year under them. They must have been the quivers of whoever owned this office. Great condition. From the looks of it, they were competition quivers from each year they competed.

In my mind I did a quick head count. Me, the boy, moms one and two, Officer, Black Man, Ball Cap, Farm Girl, McDonald, Blondie…Daryl wouldn't need one. Lets see that's… ten. Crap, that works out really well.

I pulled at the glass, trying to open it. But it was locked. "Stand back." I told Blondie before pulling the bow off my back, lifted my arm to cover my face, and hit the glass. It shattered and I slid the bow back into place. "Here." I tossed her the first quiver, and I quickly started to grab as many as I could. We each took five: one of our back, and two under each arm. Since I took the quivers from the right to left, I had the newer ones. Meaning the best one. Didn't want to be mean, but I was taking that for myself.

"Let's go."

Pulling the chain down, I quickly locked it and turned to look at the group. "Everyone back?"

"Yeah." I saw a huge pile of food around the edge of the lobby, and I smiled. This was working out great.

"We got weapons." Everyone perked up at this, and I tilted my head towards my scavenge group. "From this point on, we're going to start using bow and arrows. Daryl was smart about this. Using a quiet weapon with reusable ammo. I'll start training all of you tomorrow, but in shifts. Two groups, one in training, one doing daily chores. Then swap."

"I ain't givin' up my gun." Officer grumbled, and I was about to scold him.

But someone beat me to it.

"Rick, for the love of god, shut up! This is smarter. Unless you can pull bullets out of your ass, use the damn bow!" Blondie threw her hands up, furious. "None of us want to give up our guns. But its smarter." She turned her gaze to his wife. "Could you _please _control your husband?"

Mom two cut her eyes at her husband. "I'm tryin'."

"Alright, break it up. You'll all still have you guns. Always. But, we're going to learn how to use the bows, and then only use the guns in an emergency. Everyone happy?"

Some looked pissed, but knew better than to say anything. Others, like Farm Girl and the boy, looked more than ready to kick ass with the bows.

"Good. Now, everyone line up, and I'll issue out bows, arrows, and quivers. Start with the bow I give you. If needed, you can get a new one, but this will do for now." I felt like a teacher issuing all of this out. Guess until everyone was my level with the bow, I was.

I passed out bows, and ten arrows to each, filling the quiver about half way. The more arrows I was to give to each person, the more likely they were to lose them. I issued quivers at random, except to the little boy. I gave him the second newest one. He deserved the well crafted masterpiece. If all went well, he would have it for the longest.

Daryl came up after everyone was gone, picking up an arrow and twisting it in his hand. "These ain't made for killin'."

"Neither is a little boy. We learn to adapt." I started to fill my own quiver, then slung it over my back. "They'll do just fine."

He gave me a look, then shrugged and took three for himself.

"I thought bolts were different than arrows."

"I'll adapt."

Rolling my eyes, I placed the quiver on my back, strap across my chest, and held firmly to the bow in my right hand.

"McDonald!" I called, and the old man turned to look at me. I noticed he was intently looking at his bow. I'd make sure to put him in the first group. "You're in charge. Dish out lunch and keep everyone here. I'll be back before long."

He nodded, and I started to undo the lock. "Where ya goin'?" Daryl asked after sneaking up next to me. I didn't even realize he came up behind me. He would need to teach me that.

"Practice my form before I teach them." I threw up the chain fence and looked back at him. "You want to come see how good I am?" I raised my eyebrow, my archery skill the only thing I was truly proud of.

"Damn straight." He smiled, threw the chain wall down behind us, locked it, and followed me to the gym.

This would be good.

**Question of the Day:**

**Can **_**you **_**shoot a bow and arrow?**


	20. Chapter 20

"Help me move this." I shoved a wooden target, depressed at how little it moved.

"Weaklin'." He scoffed, then moved the target with ease. He carefully placed it in front of a canvas tarp which would stop any arrows if it was hit with it.

"Guess I'll have to start working out again." I shrugged and looked at the work out center. We all would.

"What?" He asked, and I jerked my thumb towards the room.

"Work out room. Full of weights, bars, machines. We can use everything but the treadmills." I walked a few paces back and turned towards the target. "You might want to move."

He walked a few steps away, and I took a breath. I wanted to do this in a fluid movement, like I used to be able to.

"Ya gonna do anythin'?" He grumbled form where he stood, and I just wanted to snap that tone out of his voice.

Grabbing the handle behind my back, I flipped the bow off, and held it straight in my left hand. My right hand reached back, grabbed an arrow at random, and quickly notched it in place. Putting my three fingers below the notch, I pulled back to the edge of my smile, and released.

All of this took a matter of seconds.

Lowering the green bow, I smirked to myself. Not quiet a bulls eye, but only the ring right after that. Still good for not shooting in seven years. Just like riding a bike.

"Damn." He whistled out, walking towards the target. He gripped the arrows where it disappeared into the foam. Pulling it back, he exposed several inches. Enough to kill a Walker. Hell, enough to kill a human.

"You're not the only one who can shoot." I smirked, walked towards him, and pulled the arrow from his hand. I carefully slid it back into my quiver, then through my bow onto my back.

"Guess not." He looked around and bit his bottom lip. "So…" He took a step forward and put his hands on my hips. "We got some unfinished bidness." His lips curled in a mischievous way.

"Do we now?" I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, taking a step forward until I was flushed against him. "What would that be?" Leaning forward, I whispered into his ear.

His grip tightened on my waist, and I was pressed tighter to his body. "Don't." He growled out.

This could be fun. I've never had the power to control a man. First time for everything. "Don't." I kissed his cheek. "What?" Then I started to create a trail of kisses down his neck.

Suddenly I was turned and pressed against a wall, painfully with all the stuff on my back. He realized this and slid the bow and quiver onto the ground, then sandwiched me between the wall and his body. "You'll pay for tat."

My heart was racing, and I looked up into his eyes. "I hope so."

His lips crushed to mine and I couldn't get enough. I kept his lips tightly to mine by wrapping my arms around his head, and threading my fingers through his greasy hair. I opened my mouth and his tongue hungrily entered.

He moved his hands down to my butt and then down to my thighs. I was lifted into the air and I moaned into his mouth, wrapping my legs around his hips and crossed my ankles.

The kiss was broken and he pressed his forehead to mine. We were both panting now, and my eyes kept darting back and forth through his. "Ya sure?" He whispered, using a hand to pull my hair out of the ponytail it was currently in.

I nodded and he kissed me passionately again, and started to walk us towards some door, but I was too rapped up in him to tell. Doors opened and closed, and then I was lowered. Not onto the hard floor surprisingly, but onto a soft matt. He pulled back and I had a chance to look around while I caught my breath.

We were in the work out room, on some mats. Soft and comfortable. As good as a bed, at least nowadays.

Daryl was peppering open mouth kisses across my jaw and down my neck. I moaned softly at the feeling, closed my eyes, and tilted my head back, giving him better access.

His rough hands quickly slid my shirt over my head and explored my nearly bare torso. One moment they were ghosting over my stomach, the next he was massaging my breast through my bra. "Oh god…" I moaned, pulling my lip between my teeth in an attempt to keep quiet.

My hands slid up his always present plaid shirt, feeling his muscles ripple under my hands. "This needs to go." I whispered huskily while tugging at the hem.

He sat up long enough to take off the shirt, then went back to feeling over my body. I traced the scars over his chest with the mere tip of my fingers.

His eyes searched over my chest, and froze over my heart. At first I thought he was looking at my chest, but no. It was my heart. God how could I have been so stupid.

"Red…"

"No." I pushed him off of me and I quickly grabbed my shirt, throwing it on. I stood and pulled my hair up.

"What the fuck is that?" He growled, standing up to glare at me.

"Scar. You got a hell of a lot more than me. I don't see what the problem is." I crossed my arms over my chest and walked out of the room, still refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Nah. My scars are old. Tat is newer. And precise."

Pulling the quiver over my shoulder, I picked up my bow and walked back to where I was before when I shot. I needed practice, I was pissed, and maybe it would make him leave me alone.

Loading the bow, I shot. Closer than before.

He came up next to me and crossed his arms. "Who did that to ya."

I shot another arrow, closer still to the bulls eye. "No one."

"Ya didn't do it at yerself." He growled, readjusting his ever present crossbow.

Another bow, this time a bulls eye. Turning to him, I clenched my jaw. "Maybe I did."

He firmly gripped my face between his two hands. When I tried to pull back, he just held tighter. "No ya didn't. Yer lyin'." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"Get off."

"Or what?" He growled, obviously pissed.

My hands moved to his shoulders, somehow not hitting in the face with the bow. Yet that was the least of his worries. I quickly drove my knee up, contacting with his groin.

His hands fell and he staggered backwards, doubled over in pain. I felt bad, but my anger overtook my sympathy, and I just retrieved my arrows and made my way for the doors.

"Ya can't hide ferever. Ya'll need to tell someone." He mumbled after me, still clearly in pain.

"You haven't had to yet." I called back, then left.

"McDonald, boy, Mom one, Farm Girl, Ball Cap. You're all with me. Bring your bow and quivers. I'm going to teach you how to shoot. The rest, work on closing up the school and cleaning out rooms. We'll be back in a few hours."

Everyone went to gather their things, and I was pulled back into a dark corner of the lobby.

Turning, I was Daryl. He glared at me, planting one hand on each side of my head, pinning me to the wall with his body.

"My father beat me like a dog. Used belts, paddles, sticks. Till I bled. Till I had scars."

"Why are you telling me this?" I whispered, searching his eyes.

"'Cause I need ya to tell me what happened to ya." His thumb brushed over my cheek. "I need ya to know I care for ya."

My heart skipped a beat. Did he really?

I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a hug, then pulled back and kissed him softly. "I know."

I let go of his neck and slipped under his arms. "Ya ain't gonna tell me?" He called after me.

"Not now. No." I called back over my shoulder.

"Later?"

"If your lucky."

"Alright. Put one foot on each side of the basketball line, and rest your bow on your toe." I called out, pacing in front of each of my new students.

Out of everyone, the little boy was the most excited. That much I could tell. Everyone followed my directions, and I smiled to myself.

"Lift your bows." They did, but I had to fix McDonald and Ball Cap's grips. "Pull an arrow out of your quiver using your right hand and notch it just above the small bead."

I waited while they struggled to do as instructed. It will take a lot of practice before I'll be able to clear any of these people to leave the guns and just go with the bows.

"Place three fingers under the bead, and pull back to the corner of your smile. Keep the arm with the bow straight, and when you release, paint your face like I showed you."

I moved away from the targets and watched them shoot. Ball Cap missed the target, McDonald and his daughter hit the very edge of the target, but little man somehow managed to hit the outermost ring. He might the best of the group. Good.

"Again."

"I'm going to go hunting. Stay in the lobby. Tomorrow we'll try to move to the rooms, but until then, keep the school locked down and don't leave this room. Keep someone on lookout for all times. Eat, but not more then needed. Continue drinking, but stick to the bottled water. We'll get water from the river tomorrow. Be careful, don't do anything stupid."

Daryl walked up next to me, setting up his crossbow, silently telling me that he was coming with me.

"If we aren't back by nightfall, don't come for us. Keep the group safe. It's not worth it. Got it? Anything goes wrong, be smart. Leave if you have to. Stay if not. If you leave, leave us some sort of message. I don't care if it's two years later, leave a message to let us know where you went. Got it?"

They all nodded, looking uncomfortable. I walked over to our weapon section, grabbed a handful of more arrows which I placed in the quiver. I also pocketed a new clip of bullets for my gun. Bow, gun, knife. Enough weapons for one hunting trip.

Moving to the doors, I let out a slow breath, unlocked it, and slipped into the night. Daryl followed closely behind. Although I didn't look back, I could hear someone relocked the doors.

I loaded my bow, but kept it pointed down for now, not wanting to tire out my arm.

We walked in silence, moving towards the woods. After about twenty minutes, and three dead squirrels (two for me, one for Daryl) he finally started to talk.

"What was wit tat speech ya gave?" He whispered, keeping his crossbow ready.

"We've lost so many. If something happens to us, they'll come after us, and nothing good will happen from that. Trust me." I cut my eyes at him.

"How would ya know?"

"Experience."

He was about to say something, but there was a rustle in the bushes to our right.

I quickly raised my bow, pulling the string back in the same movement. I didn't see anything, and was about to go investigate when another noise came behind us. Without a word spoke, Daryl kept his weapon trained on the original noise, while I turned, pressed my back to his, and tried to lock on to the origin.

There was another to our side, and another. "I don't think this is an animal." I whispered, barely audible.

The noises got louder, and closer. Six figures appeared from the cover of the foliage. Each with a gun, surely loaded, in their hands. "Put down the bow or we'll shoot." One of them growled.

Behind me I heard the familiar sound of Daryl unloading his crossbow, followed by a yell of pain, then a thump. He took one of them down. I quickly did the same with the larger man, probably six foot, standing in front of me. An arrow through the head. Just like a Walker.

"Bitch!" One of them yelled, lunging at me, knocking me to the ground. I heard two take down Daryl as well. "Your going to pay for that."

My bow was ripped from my hand and the quiver was pulled off my back, but not before the strap was jerked around my neck, causing me to gasp for air. The man slammed his knee into my back, making it even harder to breathe.

Thick rope was wrapped around my wrist, pulled tightly, causing me to wince. It was wrapped around my hands several times, then the same treatment was done to my feet. I was hauled to my feet, as well as Daryl.

"I can't walk if my feet are tied." I muttered, looking one of the men in the eye.

"Don't need you to." A bag was slipped over my head, and I started to struggle, doing anything and everything I could in order to try to break free.

"Stupid bitch." Was hissed in my ear before I was hit hard over the head with what felt like the butt of a gun.

And I went limp, then passed out.

_**A/N: sorry its short and late. I don't know why, but that was just SO hard to write! Ugh. Well, I'll try to work on it, and hopefully have the next chapter up in normal time.**_

_**Question of the day:**_

_**Members of your group go missing. They tell you the same thing Becca just said. Would you go look for them anyway? Or follow orders?**_


	21. Chapter 21

**So sorry for the delays. A lot of crap is going on here, and my laptop sucks. Sorry! Oh, and I might be putting up a new story soon (I know, dumb to do that, but still) so keep an eye out. It's going to be another Daryl story, but NOT a Daryl relationship story. If you read it, you'll know why. So keep an eye out for it!**

Coming to, I realized that I was still being dragged. My shoulders ached, and I was struggling for breath in the bag. Two hands were under my armpits, dragging me over the hard ground, and I heard a figure next to me shuffling, struggling to keep up with the pace set with them. Must be Daryl.

My legs hit a sharp rock, and I yelped. With effort, I made it to my feet and stumbled after my captor.

"Look who woke up." A voice growled, then I was thrown into a chair. My hands were untied, only to be rebound to the arms of a wooden chair. My legs followed suit.

"Don't touch her." Daryl growled, sounding to be across from me.

"Shut up." There was a sickening thud, then a moan. Oh god. "We'll just leave you two here. When we come back, we're going to ask you a question. You better answer."

I heard a door shut, and automatically went into action. I threw my head forward, then backwards, making sure not to hit my head on the back of the chair. Continuing this action until the bag started to slip off my head, Cheerful, I kept this going. Finally, the bag fell off my head.

"Yes." I whispered, eyes adjusting to the sudden light. The room was small, dirty. There were only my chair and Daryl's, and I noticed that he wasn't moving. There was a bright light hanging over our head, which shocked me. How did they have lights now? Maybe a generator…

"Daryl." I hissed, pulling at my ropes. "Daryl Dixon, get your ass up." My head was on a swivel, trying to spot any originally unseen dangers. "Crossbow! Please!"

He groaned, and his head, still bag covered, swayed slightly. "Becca?"

"Yes! Daryl, they're coming back. Whatever happens, don't tell them about the others. No matter what they do to me, don't tell them anything. Okay?"

"Red, don't make me do tat." He grumbled, obviously still struggling with his head wound.

The door sung open at that point, and I sucked in a breath. They both sported guns proudly on their hips. One, a middle aged man, had a cigarette planted between his lips. The other man, probably late twenties, had his arms crossed over his chest and leaned against the door, shutting it.

The smoker moved and pulled the bag off of Daryl's head. Blood tricked from his temple, but the moment his eyes adjusted, I could tell he was in hunter mode.

Younger man moved over to my chair, pushing me back until just the back two legs of the chair were there. His face was right in my face. A smirk that reminded me of Scowl was painted across his face.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing? I'd hate to ruin that face of yours." He ran a sweaty, dirty hand down my face, and I jerked away. His hand wrapped around my face and forced me to look at him. "You're looking healthy too. A little girl like you ain't just wondering with a redneck. Where is the rest of your group?"

"Why do you want to know?" I grumbled out, struggling against his hand.

"See, our group is running outta supplies. I'm sure your group would be nice enough to share." His face next to mine, forcing me to look at him, made me sick.

"We don't have a group. It's just us." I grumbled.

He took his hand back, only to quickly replaced it with a quick slap to my face. "Don't you lie to me, bitch!" He yelled, his spit covering my face in his rage.

"I'm not lying." I kept my voice even, turned my face to the side and spit the blood that had trickled from my lip to my mouth.

"What about you, redneck? You going to lie to us?" The smoker asked, getting in Daryl's face. I bit the inside of my cheek, making sure not to show anything towards Daryl.

"It ain't no lie. It's just us."

That earned his a swift punch to the face. "So, is she your girlfriend?" The man muttered, tilting his head towards me.

"Nah. Just a bitch who asked me fer help."

Another punch, but now the attention was on me.

"So, if you ain't his girlfriend, that means your open. Don't it?" The smoked asked, and moving down to my breast.

I struggled under his grip, which earned me another slap, but he moved his hand. "Now, you better stop that."

"Or what?" I growled out, trying to get them worked up so maybe they'd just leave. It's worked for my brother in the past.

"You got a mouth, don't cha, lil' whore?" He asked, took the cig from between his lips, and started to gesture around my body. "Jimmy, where do ya think I should do this?"

The younger man, Jimmy, started to run his hands up and down my arms. I jerked away, but he kept it up. "Not the face man. Too cute for that." He ran his hand over my face, and pushed my hair over one shoulder.

"Arm then?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, that'll work."

With that, the man dropped the cigarette onto my forearm, smashing the embers onto my arm.

I let out a cry of pain, tears streaming down my cheeks as I tried to pull my arm away. With no luck.

"Please stop!" I cried out, feeling my flesh burn.

He lifted the cig, lifting an eyebrow at me. "You going to tell us where your group is then?"

"Yes." I cried, my skin still burning. "Just make it stop!"

Jimmy grabbed a water bottle and poured all of the contents on my arm, causing the burning to dull, but only slightly.

"Where are they?"

"Becca!" Daryl roared, struggling against his ropes.

The man with the cigarette turned around . "I'm getting tired of you." He pulled out tape and put it over his mouth. Which Daryl didn't like, but couldn't do anything about it.

The man behind me placed a knife to my neck, putting enough pressure to draw blood, which stung like hell, but didn't do any other damage. "Where are they?" He growled.

My mind was flying a million miles a minute. What could I say? "We're staying at the Wal-Mart in town."

"I don't believe you." He pressed the blade harder into my flesh, and I whimpered. Daryl was thrashing in his seat.

"But we are! Aisles 3,4,5, and 6. Canned food, packaged food, blankets, and containers. I promise you."

He pulled the knife away and nodded to the other man. "You better hope so."

Then they were gone.

"We have to get out of here." I said, and started to pull at my restraints. My wrists were bleeding, and I could still feel the steady trickle falling from my neck, being sopped up by my shirt.

Daryl looked at me, concern obvious in his face. If they came back and found out I was lying, we were both dead.

That lit something in me. I couldn't let them kill Daryl. Leaning forward, I discovered that I could reach, uncomfortably, the ropes with my teeth. Grabbing the rope between my teeth, I started to jerk upwards, loosening the knot. Somehow I managed to loosen it enough to pull my right hand free. Maybe they tied the knot too loose. Maybe my struggling had helped with that. The why didn't matter, what mattered is that I was free.

I quickly untied my left hand, then my legs. Jumping up, I ignored the blood flowing from my wounds, and moved over to Daryl. Pulling the tape off of his mouth, I looked at them, then started to remove him from the chair.

"Becca, you're bleeding." He whispered, wiping some blood away from my neck.

"We'll deal with it if we get out." I muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door.

"Becca." he muttered, turning me around and kissing me passionately. "If anythin' happens, ya need ta know I love ya."

I was frozen in my tracks for half a second, then quickly kissed him on the lips and smiled weakly. "I love you too."

Pulling open the door, I looked to the right and left. The hallway was clear, but damn it, I didn't know how to go anywhere. "Do you know which way we came?" I whispered, trying to figure out anything that would give the direction away.

"No."

"Damn it." I looked closer. There had to be something. Then I saw it. "Rock." I pulled him to the right, toward a rock that was on the ground.

"What?" He whispered.

"I hit my leg on a rock. Now shut up and run."

We hurriedly made it down the hall, and when we came to turns, we started to take them at random. Since we were out in the open now, we couldn't stop. A turn came, we took it.

Then there was commotion. Daryl pressed me against a wall and looked around. We didn't see anything, so we started to run again. The shots grew louder, and there was screaming.

We stopped, couldn't make it any farther unless we ran right into the crossfire. My head was spinning anyway, and I leaned against Daryl. He wrapped his arms around me, and I heard a tearing noise. Looking, I saw him rip the bottom of his shirt, and pressed it to my neck. He lowered me to the ground and squatted in front of me. "Becca, you can't go any more. You lost too much blood."

"Then you go." I whispered, replacing his hands on my neck with mine. "Go."

"Just when I thought ya weren't a complete idiot." He muttered, looking around. The shots were getting quieter, but I couldn't tell if they really were or if I was about to pass out.

"Are the shots stopping?" I mumbled.

"Yah Becca, they are." He looked around, and I started to see them.

"Run." I mumbled, seeing figures with guns running towards us. I pushed him, but he didn't move. Was he planning on dying with me?

"No Becca." He smirked and picked me up, cradling me against his chest. "We ain't runnin' no more."

**Okay, I don't really like this chapter. I rewrote it twice, but it just won't come out the way I like it. And I think the next chapter is going to be the last chapter, just a cute little wrap up. Let me know what you think. **

**Question of the day:**

**Do you prefer happy endings or realistic endings?**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Okay, I know I'm a terrible person. I've left you alone for SO long. Unfortunately, this is the end of our tale. Though, I find it odd that I had the people kidnapped, and then we have the whole Governor thing…and I hadn't read the graph novel at that time. Weird, right? So, I'm going to finish this up for all of you, and have this be my first finished story. YAY! I'm currently working on a GlennxOC, which I would love all of you to check out. I Am writing a new DarylxOC, Broken and Scarred. Please go and check it out ad tell me what you think, cause I love you all! So, without further ado…the final chapter!**_

My eyes fluttered open and I smirked at the man laying next to me. When he slept, all worries were sponged away from his face and he was at peace. That day two months ago was over with, but the memories still haunted us both.

It was our men that ended up saving up, breaking my one order to find us if we didn't come back, and I could never thank them enough for that. We had our backs against the wall and we never would have made it out of that place when they came through, guns a-blazing. Apparently, Andrea used a bow before, and managed to take down a few of the men.

We've locked the school down and steadily keep the Walkers at bay, seeing only a few stragglers. Lori had her baby, little baby Judith, and both were doing fine. Carol was finally healing from Sophia's death, and was the best shot with the bow, right behind me. Everyone was getting better with them, and we used our arrows more than bullets.

We've created a home here, kept ourselves safe, have food, and no one has died. We weren't surviving anymore. No, we're thriving.

Daryl groaned next to me, and I smirked, rolling over onto his stomach and placing my chin on the center of his chest, waiting for him to wakeup.

His eyes cracked open and he peered down at me, his blue eyes groggy, but a smirk pulled at his lips. "Can I help ya?"

"Maybe." I pulled myself up and gently kissed him. "Come on, we got shit to do." I rolled off of him and sat up, rubbing my eyes and standing.

"Come 'ere." His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled my back to his chest, rocking both of us back and forth slowly, gently kissing my neck. I giggled and sighed, then turned in his arms and looked at him.

"If I tell you 'bout my scars, ya can't flip." I raised up on my toes and kissed him slowly, his arms tightening around my waist. Dropping down to my feet I sighed. "I met a group before you all. After my brother died, and when I still had my mother and sister. I was shot in the arm, and then helped patch me up." I twisted my arm so my forearm rested on his chest and I could see the fading scar. "We thought they were good.

"But, they weren't." I dropped my arm and tilted my head forward, resting my forehead in the center of his chest. "One of them…decided we needed to pay up or something."

"Becca." He grumbled, but stood utterly still, waiting to know what had happened to me.

"He pushed me to the ground, cut off my shirt and bra, and started saying all of this shit. About love and life and crap like that." I pushed off of him and linked our eyes. "Then he cut me."

"What ya do?" He whispered, placing forehead against mine.

"Kneed him in the balls, grabbed the knife…" I shut my eyes.

"Yer safe 'ere."

Opening my eyes, I smirked. "I know, Daryl." I leaned up and kissed him. "I know."

I pulled away from him and pulled my bow and quiver onto my back, while he pulled his bolts and crossbow. We moved out into the hallway and into the lobby of the school. "Hey Carl, how's it going little man?" I crouched down in front of him so I was his height.

"Good, going to practice my shooting today." He smirked and spun the arrow in his hand.

"Good to hear." I ruffled his hair and stood.

Since they saved me, I finally cracked. They call me Becca freely, and I use their names. There's no more keeping people at bay with me. These people are my family, in all sense of the word. We keep each other safe and we love each other.

"Glenn!" I called over to the man who hugged Maggie to his side, laughing at some sort of joke that told by Lori, who cradled Judith in he arms. He snapped his head up and smiled, kissed Maggie on the cheek, and walked over to me.

"Yup?"

"I finished all the stuff. You want me to show you and Maggie?"

His face lit up and he eagerly nodded, as if it was the best news he could hear. Honestly, it was a possibility. "Alright, go get her, Casanova. Daryl, go check the stock pile and make sure the doors are secure." I leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. "Go."

He smirked and walked off to go do the job I instructed. Glenn went off and got Maggie, then walked back to me, as I led them down a separate wing than the one we bunk in. "Did the best I could, but sewing by hand in a pain in the ass." I called over my shoulder, and saw the two love birds holding hands. It was sweet.

Throwing the door open, I walked over to the farthest table and picked up the white cloth. Maggie's face lit up like a Christmas tree and she rushed over, picking it up and pressing it against her body. "It's beautiful!" She cheered.

It was a simple wedding gown, the best I could create from the cloth left in the home economics room. The sleeves were three fingers wide, and thinned as it reached the top of the gown. It was a basic top, dipping slightly between her breasts, fitted so it's tight against her body until it reaches her waist, where it loosens slightly to flow straight down.

"It's amazing." Glenn commented, smiling at his soon to be bride.

They've been waiting to be wed for quiet some time, but unable to because of the threats. At first, we weren't sure the doors would hold, and expected a need to run at the drop of a hat. Then Daryl and I were kidnapped and…it's taken quiet a lot to get us to this point.

"I can't believe you know how to sew like this." Maggie held the dress to her chest and spun, watching the fabric billow.

"I might be an ass, but I did do shit before the end of the world." I smiled weakly and turned back to the table, then turned, holding a pair of black slacks and a light blue button up shirt. This outfit took twice as long as Maggie's gown, and I decided that I would never again make men's clothes. Dress is easy, just hem it and you're done, not like men's clothes. "You'll look dapper on your special day too." I passed it off and they both smirked, then hugged each other.

"Thank you." They both smiled.

"Come on, get changed. Today's the day."

TWD

Hershel, who I still preferred to call McDonald from time to time, held a Bible in his hands and spoke to the couple in front of him, holding hands. They both looked amazing in their clothes, not to pat myself on the back or anything.

I sat next to Daryl, who draped his arm over the back of my chair and watched the ceremony. Leaning towards him, I whispered, "You look happy."

He turned to look at me, keeping his voice low for the sake of the ceremony. "It's…normal."

Nodding, I raised my brows. "It really is."

"Maybe…we'll be next?" He raised a single brow, smirking at me in the way he always did.

Leaning my head onto his chest, I snuggled into the crook of his arm. "Maybe if you're lucky."

We've done it. We've found a way to live in the end of the world, where the dead rise and walk again, and the living run from the death all around. We've found a home, a place to live and recreate the world.


End file.
